Last week, the State Senate made huge progress towards fixing the single largest problem facing our state: our dangerously underfunded state pension systems.

With our nearly $100 billion pension shortfall increasingly choking off funding for other core state services like public education funding, it was imperative that we address the problem.

At the same time, the Illinois Constitution specifically protects pension benefits, and I don’t believe it’s fair for the state to break its promise to the thousands of hard-working state employees who already paid their portion.

But through hard work, months of negotiations, and bringing all parties to the table, I believe we have found a responsible solution to this complex and difficult problem.

I was pleased to join 39 of my colleagues from both sides of the aisle to support Senate Bill 2404, a plan which saves the state up to $46 billion over the next 30 years and guarantees 90 percent funding of the pension system by 2045. The plan passed out of the Senate and now heads to the House.

There are other pension proposals under discussion in Springfield, but the measure I supported is the only measure that resulted from negotiations with labor unions and has their support.

Not only that, but this is the only proposal likely to be found constitutional by the Supreme Court. Passing a plan that won’t be upheld in court would only waste precious time and money and leave us no better off than where we are today.

This plan is the most reasonable and responsible choice for Illinois’ future. Please click on the graph below to learn more about the specifics of this reform proposal.

IICLA’s “Changing Minds Campaign” specifically works to address and change systemic issues surrounding incarceration and individuals involved with the corrections system- specifically on changing the minds of the public and people who are unsupportive of the formerly incarcerated.

IICLA is working on various projects to address these issues including performed skits, demonstrations, community forums, lobbying etc.

For more information, visit their website by clicking here.

The fight for fair pension reform cleared a major hurdle,but there is still work to be done. The Senate voted 40-16  to approve SB 2404, the fair and constitutional pension reform bill sponsored by Senate President John Cullerton.

This bill is supported by SEIU Local 73, the We Are One Illinois Coalition (of which we are a strong partner), and the Illinois Alliance for Retired Americans.

SB 2404 bill now moves to the House for a vote. This is when calls to your Representative become more important than ever!

May 8 – 3:50 p.m. Update

SB 2404 now heads to the full Senate for a vote. This vote expected to take place tomorrow. Now is the chance to call your Senator and urge them to vote YES to SB 2404 the way it is! Tell them this is the most fair, responsible, and constitutional plan to pension reform and should not be changed!

May 8 – 8 a.m. Update: 

The Senate has a choice between our fair pension bill in SB 2404, or House Speaker Madigan’s pension-gutting bill in SB 1. The graphic below shows how unfair and extreme Speaker Madigan’s bill is in comparison to SB 2404, the fair pension bill supported by the We Are One Illinois coalition, a group of more than one million public workers in our state.

The Senate Executive Committee is expected to pass SB 2404 out of committee later this afternoon. SB 2404 will then go to the Senate floor where every Senator will cast their vote. This vote is expected to take place later today or tomorrow.

The House voted to approve SB 1 last week, and Governor Quinn has already said he will sign SB 1 if it passes the Senate. We cannot let Speaker Madigan’s extreme pension reform pass the Senate! Your Senator must know you are against this bill!

Call 888.412.6570 and tell your Senator:

-Vote YES on SB 2404!

-Vote NO on SB 1!

May 6 Update: Agreement Reached on Fair Pension Reform

Earlier today, we reached an agreement with President Cullerton on a fair and constitutional pension reform. President Cullerton presented this agreement to his caucus this afternoon, and we hope this agreement will be voted on as Senate Bill 2404, instead of having the Senate vote on the unfair and unconstitutional Senate Bill 1.

The We Are One Illinois coalition, of which SEIU Local 73 is a strong partner, has met with Senate President Cullerton several times in the past few weeks to create a solution for fair pension reform for the more than one million public workers in Illinois.

Our coalition worked hard to minimize the amount of sacrifice asked of you as a public worker or a retiree. You did not cause this problem and should not bear the burden alone.

Below is a summary of the agreement. We believe this agreement is the best plan for both current employees and retirees.  While we have not received a final estimate, we believe this agreement on pension reform would save the state between $40 and $60 billion. Our agreement does not raise retirement ages and does not cut COLAs anywhere near as deeply as SB 1 would.

The Senate now has a choice to make, between our coalition’s agreement with President Cullerton or Speaker Madigan’s extreme and unconstitutional pension reform in SB 1.  Governor Quinn has already said he will sign SB 1 into law if it passes the Senate. This bill MUST BE STOPPED!  

Call 888.412.6570 and tell your State Senator to support SB 2404, Senate Cullerton’s pension agreement with the We Are One Illinois Coalition, and not Speaker Madigan’s extreme and unconstitutional SB 1!

Make the call NOW and save your pension from being gutted by Speaker Madigan!

We received the contracts for signature Friday afternoon, and have begun the process of having every member of the bargaining committee sign. This is expected to be completed May 7, and we will return the contracts to university management for their signaturse.

The University has told their Payroll Department to begin working on issuing wage increases and retroactive checks. This may take a few additional pay periods, but we are still hopeful this can be completed in June.

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After our extremely successful three-day strike in March and earning a fair contract last month, many BSWs and FSWs are curious when they will see their wage increase and retroactive check.

Please note the following items and share the information with your co-workers:

• You will not miss out on any money. The longer the University delays this process, the larger your retroactive check will be when you receive it.
• We voted to ratify our contract one month ago this week, and have never received wage increases or retroactive pay within a month of ratifying the contract.
• We have met with University management to go over every word, comma, and penny in the contract. We expect to receive the final version of the contract for signing this week, and will begin the signing process and give back to the university for their signatures shortly after.

If the University decides to stall on signing the contract and issuing wage increases, we will hold a picket in front of the President’s office to show him we may have a contract, but we’re still strong together and won’t back down from getting what we deserve!

• An increase of your personal contribution to your pension by 2 percentage points;
  
• An increase to the age you will be able to retire with full pension benefits;
  
• Change the cost of living adjustment (COLA) increase you would receive;

This committee will not just “settle” for a bad contract that just gets done quickly. These are hard economic times and your committee is fighting for the very best contract we can get. We are fighting for a contract that provides a wage increase, includes no givebacks, and is fair to each and every member of this bargaining unit.

Several political issues in the Illinois State Legislature have even further complicated and slowed down negotiations. There have been attacks from both sides of the political aisle on our wages, pensions, health care, and our co-workers rights to forming a Union. Because of the extreme impact some of this legislation would have had on our wages and working conditions, the bargaining committee chose to proceed slowly in order to negotiate the full impact of any bad legislation that was passed. However, the fight continues in Springfield.

Even with these challenges, we are getting closer to reaching a fair contract. There are only a few items left to negotiate over with SOS management. These include:

• Management has proposed SOS offices should not be closed for four or more consecutive days. If we agreed to this proposal, it could result in members being forced to work on Christmas Eve in some years. We will continue to fight this proposal.
• We are fighting for an improvement in the way they compensate members for travel on a scheduled day off.
• We are getting close on economic issues. The main economic issue remaining is the longevity increase that is paid in lieu of a step increase when a member reaches their maximum pay level.

These are all very important issues and we are continuing to fight for them and for all of our members no matter how long the process will take.

Let’s all keep standing strong together!

SEIU Local 73 SOS Bargaining Committee