Glen Brown asks, “What about that pension agreement between the We Are One Illinois Coalition and Senate President Cullerton?” | Fred Klonsky

Glen Brown asks, “What about that pension agreement between the We Are One Illinois Coalition and Senate President Cullerton?” | Fred Klonsky:

Glen Brown asks, “What about that pension agreement between the We Are One Illinois Coalition and Senate President Cullerton?”

by Fred Klonsky

Glen Brown.

Contracts supported by consideration are often one-sided, advantageous arrangements. In Illinois, any agreement with the General Assembly regarding a “guaranteed” funding to the pension systems, for example, may not be a “valid” consideration for public employees, especially since it would be in exchange for reductions of originally-vested benefits guaranteed by the Illinois and U.S. Constitutions. It is an expedient bargain for many members of the Illinois General Assembly, nonetheless, particularly since there haven’t been consequences for their past thievery and depravity.It wasn’t too long ago when John Stevens, Legal Consultant for the “We Are One” Labor Coalition stated: “To take away the Cost-of-Living Adjustment [COLA] for [current and future] retirees is not a free and fair choice. It is a coercive choice under duress.” Indeed, the concept of duress (or coercion) is a vitiating (legally defective) factor and; therefore, Illinois legislators are breaching a contract by forcing public employees to make a choice to