Pension reform saves Illinois schools

Why do Illinois politicians think Illinois voters are stupid?

Maybe it's because they've elected three governors who have served time in prison and one who prosecutors are trying to put there.

Whatever the reason, the question entered my head when I read a recent story about the state's vaunted pension reform for public employees.

In the story, Gov. Pat Quinn, who supported the reform, was quoted as saying, "That was an earthquake - a political earthquake."

The aftershocks, in the words of one of my esteemed colleagues, will be glib Springfield politicians losing their jobs.

The pension reform was pushed through in an apparent attempt to persuade voters that "Hey, we're doing our part. Time to do your part!" That is, support a big, fat tax increase.

"If you don't support the tax hike," the pols continue, "we're going to hack public schools to death. Say 'goodbye' to arts, music and sports. Get used to 40 students or more in a classroom. Welcome to the jungle."

Too bad public schools aren't playing along with Quinn's blackmail scheme.

Cheryl Crates, chief financial officer of Carpentersville-based Community Unit District 300, rightly pointed out at a recent board meeting that the pension reform will do little or nothing to reduce the state's current costs.

But in exchange for a promise to spend our money better in the future, we're expected to cough up more money now.

Quinn's Republican opponent, Sen. Bill Brady, may have something to say about pension reform. Brady has said the state needs to fix how it pays for pensions before asking voters for more taxes.

Was this what he had in mind?

Now, Quinn can claim he pre-empted Brady. But pension reform was really about fixing a broken system and saving taxpayers' money, right?

I can see why Quinn referred to the reform as an "earthquake," though. Unlike the gradual change typical of democracy, pension reform cleared the General Assembly in a single day - just as an earthquake lasting several moments can disturb layers of rock built up over millions of years.

The swift action allows lawmakers and legislative leaders to show their commitment to fixing the state's budget crisis.

But if something as complex and politically fraught as public pension reform can clear the legislature in one day, why has it taken months for lawmakers to fix the budget? And what about the ethics reform that took months of wrangling, only to be gutted and hailed as true progress?

I guess none of those things were as important as making sure the state's pension systems are solvent - about 30 or 40 years from now.