Post by libby on Jan 25, 2016 19:59:14 GMT -6
Rauner, Cullerton and a pension deal: Can this marriage be saved?
It was a brief breakthrough in the yearlong legislative paralysis among top Illinois leaders: Last week, Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner announced he would support Democratic Senate President John Cullerton's pension reform plan.
That was hopeful news. Cullerton's proposal and others have been shelved since the Illinois Supreme Court in May rejected as unconstitutional a broader pension overhaul. Meanwhile, the unfunded liability of the system has continued to grow, topping out at more than $111 billion.
Why was Rauner's announcement even bigger than a pension deal?
Because it represented a willingness between two leaders of rival parties to tackle an urgent fiscal problem in Illinois. Not even House Speaker Michael Madigan, Cullerton's ally, has gotten behind Democrat Cullerton's plan. But here was the Republican Rauner, announcing that he could get behind it.
See more: www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-rauner-madigan-cullerton-illinois-pensions-edit-20160125-story.html
It was a brief breakthrough in the yearlong legislative paralysis among top Illinois leaders: Last week, Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner announced he would support Democratic Senate President John Cullerton's pension reform plan.
That was hopeful news. Cullerton's proposal and others have been shelved since the Illinois Supreme Court in May rejected as unconstitutional a broader pension overhaul. Meanwhile, the unfunded liability of the system has continued to grow, topping out at more than $111 billion.
Why was Rauner's announcement even bigger than a pension deal?
Because it represented a willingness between two leaders of rival parties to tackle an urgent fiscal problem in Illinois. Not even House Speaker Michael Madigan, Cullerton's ally, has gotten behind Democrat Cullerton's plan. But here was the Republican Rauner, announcing that he could get behind it.
See more: www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-rauner-madigan-cullerton-illinois-pensions-edit-20160125-story.html