Earlier this week, just before Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn was set to deliver his State of the State address, 25 of the state’s major unions filed a lawsuit challenging the state’s attempt to reduce their pension liability, the Washington Post reports. The new law includes cost-of-living cuts for retirees, caps on payments to highly paid workers and raising the retirement age for some workers while putting them into DC plans.
The unions — which represent teachers, fire fighters, prison workers and state agency workers — claim that the law violates the Illinois constitution, which states that pensions may not be impaired or diminished. After decades of shorting or skipping payments to their pension plan, Illinois faces a $100 billion shortfall, which affects the state's credit rating. The new law is expected to bridge that gap over three decades.
While the lawsuit is the unions’ first effort to derail the law, many expect them to use their political clout to force elected officials to rethink their position.
