Expedited Pension Hearing
- The Illinois Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to quickly consider an appeal of a lower court ruling that struck down pension fund changes Mayor Rahm Emanuel engineered to lower taxpayer costs but also hit current and retired city workers in the pocketbook.
In a brief order, the court agreed to a sped-up briefing cycle that would lead to oral arguments in November — a schedule city attorneys hope leads to a final decision before the year is out.
Last month, Cook County Circuit Court Judge Rita Novak overturned a 2014 state law that reduced cost-of-living benefit increases for retired city workers and laborers and increased contributions by current employees. Those changes were coupled with increases in taxpayer payments to the pension funds.
Novak based her decision on a unanimous state Supreme Court ruling in May on a similar pension case. The court struck down a law changing state pensions, saying the Illinois Constitution's protection against "diminished or impaired" pension benefits for public workers and current retirees was absolute. Novak concluded that ruling provided "crystal-clear direction" in the city pension case.
Although union representatives and lawyers for retired workers have urged the city to drop the appeal, Emanuel has defended it, saying city pension changes "will stand the test of time."
Besides, it isn't like Rahm is spending his own money - he's spending the money that might have been used to actually help pay the total owed to pensioners - past and future.
Labels: pension
posted by SCC at 12:51 AM
27 Comments:
Illinois supreme Court , that's Burks old lady , right ?
No problem . .... don't youzze worry about a thing .
You are so cute.
You actually expect the judges to be consistent?
Do you really expect them to make good on their promises?
You get what they have left after they are finished looting the Second City. And they will be enjoying themselves with the money they looted.
Short time frame?
Maybe it is "What don't you understand after we told you the first time?"
I can see the opinion now, "Rahm, you are still short and your shit is all retarded!"
Good news for retirees and current city employees, an appeal to the Supreme Court is best case scenario, once Rahm and his flunky lawyers have their horse shit and immoral arguments on pension theft torpedoed, the decision will be binding on the City for evermore ! (quote the Raven)
Typical Rahm. Arrogance.
Emanual defended the billion dollar hedge fund parking meter deal as a contract that couldn't be broken yet he will spend more money for lawyers and more time will be wasted trying to welch on the middle class working police officers, firefighters, and teachers.
Yes hurry up so Justice Burke can give Rahm what he wants.
Rahm will keep fighting because he knows the fix is in. It will be Rahm's way make no mistake about it. He will not pay the pension obligation that's due, and he will get every reform he wants. Bank on it!
If the city is broke, why all the roadwork?
Need a law stating these ass clown and their lawsuit (Banning guns) have to come out of their paychecks if it is frivolous.
The city council is full of DOPES who couldn't draft a law if you paid them.
Listen to them talk about reparations or Burge funds just passing out cash like it grows on trees.
Can we ever forget selling the Skyway or the meter deal they all thought they were solving problems. Some Alderman actually think renters make a neighborhood better???
You bet this will be fast. The mayor is famous for fast action on top matters.
Just remember his fast election hearing for his resudency issue. But here in the city an employee waits 3 years to get to a labor or police board on a residency case.
Now you have an issue over city pension responsibilities, that have now been thrown out by court and a Illinois supreme court. But our mayor says thats just not right, So lets fight this all over again.
Why, its not his money he is playing with. If it was this would have bern closed end of story.
Remember this is the same guy who takes a CTA train to work, even though there is a convoy following
him in with the SUVs. Just so he can say he is peoples mayor.
Rahm says: “What worked 30 years ago, 40 years ago is different, we’re in a different position,” Emanuel said.
http://capitolfax.com/2015/08/13/mitchell-introduces-cost-shift/
Teachers should take a 7% pay cut and use that money to bailout their own pensions because Rahm says that's a path.
Hey here's an idea Rahm.
Go tell your campaign contribution banker friends and the city bond holders “What worked 30 years ago, 40 years ago is different, we’re in a different position,”
and then stop paying the interest rates and the bond coupons by 7%.
Rahm has a plan
We call it "JUST THE TIP" now bend over.
"Because the Chicago Teachers Union has deemed picking up all 7 percent of its pension costs at once as “strikeworthy,” Mayor Rahm Emanuel confirmed Wednesday that CPS CEO Forrest Claypool will propose stretching out the change over several years."
http://capitolfax.com/2015/08/14/the-mediators-are-coming/
Anyone who read SB1 and the ISC decision knows Rahm's a loser on this one.
In fact if you have not read these two documents your a loser too.
I am an oldie...so not very good at linking up articles to send, but please check yahoo.com. this morning....there is an article there by the title of Chicago Public Schools to Abandon Pension Commitments, by Alan Pyke of Think Progress...however, 7 paragraphs down, the writer sure hits the nail on the head and blames Rahm and his TIF funds for all failure to pay into any of the pensions....thought you might be interested...
SCC - Please continue to cover this extremely important issue! Why our FOP & elected pension board members remain mute on this problem is a mystery and another issue which you have attempted to cover. i only hope that this issue is resolved in my lifetime so i can enjoy my retirement without having to look over my shoulder at Springboard & City Hall's attempt to break their obligation to pay what is rightfully ours.
Thanks for all your efforts to help retirees. i only hope that someday we can meet/know who you are so i can shake your hand & buy you a beer (or a root beer float)!
Slightly O/T but Still Relevant:
Chicago Fibune -
"Frustrated Emanuel Takes Second Crack At
Infrastructure Trust"
Meh...
Ok, we'll bite...
How in fuck is the missing digit hobgoblin
"frustrated?"
He has no money worries.
No pension worries.
His job, life and standard of living
isn't being threatened by somebody
like HIM so WHAT IN THE ENTIRE
FUCK IS THIS LITTLE NORTHSHORE
SHIT-ASS "FRUSTRATED" ABOUT?"
Ooohhhh... We see...
His "frustration" stems from the possibility
that it's taking way too long to steal everything
from those dumb-assed, unsophisticated,
tax-paying suckers in Chicago because it's
taking too long to break those wild-assed Coppers
and steal their sweet honeypot of money and give
it over to his Wall Street/LaSalle Street friends to
earn a tidy "Finder's Fee" in perpetuity for himself
and his family.
For fuck's same already!
Why won't you Coppers quit your rabble-rousing
on that blog already and just accept that Rahm has won?
He's already burned a whole term in office trying to cut side
side deals with your union leadership to keep you guys divided
and off track and trying to separate you Coppers from the public
good will by using your pay, pension and "Union Protections" as
pry tools along with very heavy investure in agit-prop by local
media to assist in achieving that goal.
You guys need to stop fighting him because he's
a financial guru and you all are just venting your
scary and unreasonable blue collar anger and resentment.
No wonder your societal betters like Brown, Zorn, Steinberg,
Sneed, Spielman, Zekman, Mitchell etc., are unable to
reason with or understand you guys.
>Snicker!<
As The Police and Policing go?
So goes this city and there are
those hiding in the shadows who
absolutely hate and fear that deep,
binding tie.
"Whither The Police?
What are they thinking?
What are they doing?
What are they saying on
THAT blog? We need to
know so we can stay ahead
of them and the rest of those
"angry" for no good reason,
blue collar churls and middle
class tax-paying suckers we
need to extract more money
from."
Funny...
The major dead-tree media outlets have mined,
bugged, blocked and pay-walled their online sites
as a favor to City Hall.
You blue collar churls were starting to glean insight
and become informed on lofty political decisions made
by all of the smart people who consider themselves your
betters.
You churls from the bungalow belts can't ever be allowed
access to the levers of government because of your native
tendencies to take care of "home" first when there are so
many other entities competing to gain access to your
treasure and put it to more "creative" and better use than
you rabble-rousing blue collar churls and angry middle class
tax-paying suckers ever could.
Your money is too important to be trusted to you so by
design, you're made to see much less of it as your purchasing
power and recourse via the ballot box are intentionally degraded
to keep you right where you are.
>Pfffft!<
Rahm is frustrated huh?
It's about time he had a little adversity in life
and things not going his way.
Sleep well little guy...
Once Mayor 1% and his misfit counsel get schooled by the Illinois Supreme Court, Rahm will surely come up with a Plan B to fund the pensions, after all, he is financial genius (smartest guy in the room) who earned $ 18.5 million as an investment banker in just 2.5 years !
Rahm is pissing in the wind and he knows it. He couldn't care less that he continues to waste taxpayers money on this.
Rahm thinks that the TIF funds are his personal piggy bank to award his friends for their campaign donations.
That sap Blogouavich was just thinking about making a profit in the public sector
Rahm doesn't care, because he will not run for mayor again in the next election. Rahm is keeping the mayor's chair warm for ol' shortshanks's nephew patrick daley thompson.
Why are the legislators/aldermans' pensions subject to any "sacrifice"? I keep hearing about sharing the pain?
Rham has a plan B ready when the Supeme Court rules against him. DO NOTHING. Just make the City's yearly required payment into the fund. In about ten years or so, the fund will go insolvent. Once the fund misses a payment to an annuitant then the City will be in violation of their financial responsibility to the retirees. Ah, but then it will be too late, the fund will be insolvent. This way, the City would not declare bankruptcy even if they could and wouldn't have to open their books to a bankruptcy judge. That's our catch-22.
Blogger MTS said...
Why are the legislators/aldermans' pensions subject to any "sacrifice"? I keep hearing about sharing the pain?
8/15/2015 08:09:00 AM
Proofread your posts.
My best guess is you meant to say "Why AREN'T the legislators' ..."
(We shouldn't have to guess, though.)
Rahm better have a plan B, in fact, new lawsuit can be brought by any pension member to compel funding if pension fund is on the verge of default or imminent bankruptcy, see Sklodowski, 182 Ill.2d at 232-33 (1998). Since Rahm maintains the fund will go belly up, any member can file a new lawsuit. City employees who retire more than 10 years from now are being told today they will not receive any pension, great plaintiffs for a good pension lawyer.
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