You tell ’em judge!
“Illinois teachers and police, nurses and caregivers and all other public servants, both active and retired, work hard every day on behalf of Illinois and its are a little more secure in the knowledge that their life savings can’t be taken away from them after this decision.”
– Sean Smoot, Director of the PB&PA of Illinois, Treasurer of NAPO
Most Americans don’t have access to traditional, defined-benefit retirement plans. But many law enforcement officers still do. And that has set up a dynamic that can best be described as “pension envy.” Sophisticated politicians now use police officers as the scapegoat for all problems financial. And because of pension envy, the strategy has proven a winner politically speaking for people like Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. But unfortunately for the masters of the universe that want to move your retirement savings into their accounts at Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan, there are still some judges that believe in the rule of law. And in Illinois, Judge John Belz has ruled that the state’s so-called “pension reform” law is blatantly unconstitutional.
Sean Smoot, the Director & Chief Legal Counsel for the PB&PA of Illinois and the Treasurer of NAPO, said, “The We Are One Illinois coalition and its member unions that represent hundreds of thousands of active and retired teachers, state employees and university employees throughout Illinois are very happy about the court’s ruling.”
Smoot said the group welcomed the opportunity to make the case that the Illinois Constitution means what it says, and the pension clause is absolute.
“Our unions have long argued that the state cannot simply choose to violate the Constitution and diminish or impair retirement benefits if politicians find these commitments inconvenient to keep,” Smoot continued. “Illinois teachers and police, nurses and caregivers and all other public servants, both active and retired, work hard every day on behalf of Illinois and its residents in every community throughout the state. This decision makes them a little more secure in the knowledge that their life savings can’t be taken away from them.”
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