The Illinois Senate considered several contentious bills this week, including a measure to reduce the healthcare subsidy for retired state employees.

On May 10, Illinois lawmakers took what proponents acknowledged was a difficult first step to bringing the state's pension system back to solvency with the approval of Senate Bill 1313. The legislation passed on a 31-20 vote.

The measure repeals the state's health insurance subsidy, of up to 100 percent, for retired public employees with 20 years or more of service. The bill directs the state's Department of Central Management Services to issue a retiree health insurance premium payment plan for retirees in the five state pension systems, including state employees, university employees, lawmakers and judges.

The premium plan is subject to approval by the Legislature's Joint Committee on Administrative Rules. The measure now goes to the Governor, who has said he will sign it.

Proponents of the legislation acknowledged that the vote was difficult, but said it was necessary to get state spending under control. Lawmakers who voted for the measure said that in order for the Democrats’ 67 percent tax hike to expire as promised, the state must reduce spending. They also pointed out that Illinois has the worst-funded pension system in the nation and that pension costs must be brought under control or the system could collapse. The Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 cost of the health insurance subsidy is $877 million.

While opponents acknowledge the need to reduce state obligations, they noted that the measure will not actually reduce spending but instead subsidize spending by requiring state retirees to pay more. Those who voted against the measure argued that the state must control costs—not push them off onto others.

May 2, 2012

The state’s scandal-plagued legislative scholarship program is one step closer to elimination, said State Sen. Christine Radogno (R-Lemont), who is a co-sponsor of legislation (HB 3810) to end the General Assembly tuition waiver program, which was approved on May 2 by the Senate Executive Committee.

“This is another step forward to good public policy, and I am happy that we could pass the legislation in a bipartisan manner,” said Radogno, a long-time advocate for abolishing the costly perk.

Illinois media has uncovered a slew of abuses relating to the General Assembly Scholarship Program that stretches back to the 1980s. Allegations of impropriety continue to surface, which in some instances have led to federal investigations into evidence that lawmakers awarded the scholarships to friends, lobbyists and campaign donors.

April 26, 2012

On Thursday, April 26, the Illinois Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 3688, a bill that extends the Illinois Enterprise Zone program.  Since its inception the program has been credited with employment growth and aiding in economic development.  

“We have contended for many years that Illinois has one of the best economic tools in enterprise zones, and this Senate vote shows legislators agree,” said Mark Denzler, vice president and chief operating officer for the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association. “Now we call on the House to quickly take up this issue and see that if we’re serious about rebuilding this state and creating jobs, we will embrace these commonsense reforms and take enterprise zones to the next level.”

The bipartisan Special Senate Committee on Enterprise Zone extensions, co-chaired by Senators Pamela Althoff (R-Crystal Lake) and Michael Frerichs (D-Champaign) held statewide hearings earlier in April to gather testimony about the effectiveness of the zones.  The legislation now heads to the House.

“Enterprise zones provide the path to success that we all want to see in our economy,” said Sen. Pamela Althoff (R-Crystal Lake). “After an extensive, bipartisan effort to hear from Illinoisans about the value of these zones, we can proudly say this bill is the right approach for our state and we encourage the House to take this up right away.”