Quinn, lawmakers plan pension talks into July
SPRINGFIELD — Unable to overcome a stalemate on the state’s $97 billion pension crisis, Gov. Pat Quinn and legislative leaders are working on a new plan that involves forming a bipartisan committee this week and reconvening the legislature for an additional session in July.
Lawmakers are scheduled to convene Wednesday in Springfield for a special session called by Quinn to deal with the pension crisis. But Quinn’s spokeswoman, Brooke Anderson, told The Associated Press Tuesday that the governor will call another session in early July for the lawmakers to keep working on the problem.
The announcement came after word that Madigan has warmed to the idea of a bipartisan committee to negotiate a compromise between two rival pension reform plans that have split the House and Senate. Madigan initially had opposed the committee idea, but Anderson said he, Quinn and Senate President John Cullerton had agreed on the new approach as it became clear that a resolution this week was unlikely.
“It’s the first time they’ve agreed on a means to an end,” Anderson said.
Madigan spokesman Steve Brown told the AP Tuesday that the House and Senate maintain their “distinct” positions over fixing the pension problem. But he said Madigan is working on a process for lawmakers to continue searching for a compromise through a so-called conference committee designed to focus on a single piece of legislation and not try to wrestle various proposals.
“We’ve been trying in the House to fashion a bipartisan coalition — to try that approach and see what can be gained going in that direction rather than individual bills out of individual chambers,” Brown said.
Cullerton supports the committee idea too, his spokeswoman Rikeesha Phelon said.
“It’s time to move toward resolution and Cullerton was on board from the moment it was discussed,” Phelon said.
The committee idea was suggested by Quinn at a meeting with the legislative leaders last week. But Madigan dismissed it, suggesting it was a way for Quinn to avoid pressuring lawmakers harder to forge a compromise.
Madigan instead pushed for another Senate vote on a House plan that would unilaterally impose pension changes on retired state workers, including increasing the retirement age. The measure received just 16 votes in the Senate during the session that ended May 31, but would need 36 votes for passage during Wednesday’s special session.
The Senate supports a union-backed rival plan that would give retirees options over pension benefits. Many argue it would not save the state as much money as the plan Madigan supports. However, advocates for the Senate plan argue it is more likely to survive an expected legal challenge, since negotiated retirement benefits are currently protected by the state constitution.
A conference committee has not been used in the legislature since 2005, when lawmakers used it to vote on a nondiscrimination bill. There’s no guarantee that what such a committee drafts would become law, because it ultimately would have to be approved by both chambers — where it could run into the same problems as the existing legislative proposals.
Under Quinn’s original idea, the committee would have 10 members. Madigan and Cullerton, both Democrats, would each appoint three legislators to the committee. Senate Republican leader Christine Radogno and House Republican leader Tom Cross each would appoint two committee members.
As Wednesday’s special session approached, Quinn made some calls to members of the Senate to try to rally support for Madigan’s pension fix, but a number of members continued to oppose the plan.
“He called me last week and he called me this week,” said state Sen. Dan Kotowski, a Park Ridge Democrat who supported the Senate’s own plan. He said the governor told him to “do what you think is best” but urged him to vote for the Madigan pension proposal “because pension reform is urgent for the fiscal health of Illinois.”
State Sen. John Mulroe, a Chicago Democrat, said his caucus resented the demand to vote for the House-backed bill.
“As a Senate we are united right now,” Mulroe said. “We can’t just roll over because the other chamber says we should.”
Lawmakers were scheduled to hear testimony on pension plans during committee hearings Tuesday ahead of this week’s special session.