Quinn Calls Special Session Of Legislature For Pension Reform
By Chuck Sudo in News on Jul 30, 2012 9:30PM
Gov. Pat Quinn must be thinking if the State House is going to be in Springfield on Aug. 17 that would be a good time to get everyone down there to hammer through some pension reform. Quinn is calling a special session of the General Assembly for Aug. 17 to vote on pension reform. That’s the same date that Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan called a special session of the House to vote on expelling indicted Rep. Derrick Smith.
Quinn made his announcement during a speaking engagement at the City Club of Chicago and said it was “time to vote” on the long-stalled bill. Pension reform was one of the more contentious subjects during the spring session in Springfield. Madigan, at Quinn’s urging, pulled back on a plan to shift the responsibility for funding teachers pensions from the state to university and local school districts that some downstate reps said would bankrupt said systems and lead to significant property tax increases. Unlike Madigan’s special session, Quinn’s announcement would also bring the State Senate back to Springfield to vote on pension reform, which he said he was “put on this earth to solve.”
Illinois Republicans, led by Senate Republican leader Christine Radogno and House Republican Leader Tom Cross, applauded Quinn’s announcement and released a statement that read:
We are encouraged by the Governor’s call for a special session on pension reform on August 17. As many people know, we have been and continue to be supportive of comprehensive pension reform that solves the major crisis facing us today. The time to act has been upon us. We are continuing to encourage Gov. Quinn to take a leadership role to get a comprehensive pension bill passed in the General Assembly.”