The in box. Letter to the Southtown Star. What is missing from the pension reform dialogue? « Fred Klonsky

The in box. Letter to the Southtown Star. What is missing from the pension reform dialogue? « Fred Klonsky:

The in box. Letter to the Southtown Star. What is missing from the pension reform dialogue?

by Fred Klonsky

My letter to the SouthtownStar:
How tied to Illinois’ Speaker of the House, Michael Madigan, are local south-suburban Democratic legislators? Residents throughout Southland are about to find out. In the coming days, Illinois Legislators will be headed to Springfield to yet again attempt to fix the State’s spiraling budget deficit. Central to the Legislature’s focus will undoubtedly include passing a Madigan-led pension reform package.
Speaker Madigan has spelled out his recipe for pension reform several times through the local media: “My position on pension reform is that we have to eliminate the free lunch for local districts,” he states.
What he is referring to is his proposed “cost-shift” plan, which would defer the responsibility of funding the pension system onto local school districts. By skirting what has historically been a duty of the State of Illinois, Madigan will be forcing us, the local taxpayers, to pay for the