In a tweet responding to criticism of his active support for the pension cutting HB1447, Park Ridge Democratic Senator Dan Kotowski goes after state employees.
Referring to retirees, seniors living on a state pension and receiving health care insurance subsidies, Kotowski says, “Nobody receives a sweetheart deal like that.”
For a member of the Illinois General Assembly, a group which gave massive tax breaks to corporations like Sears and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, being outraged at seniors getting health care coverage as part of their pension takes some balls.
This is a bunch that knows something about sweetheart deals.
Everyone in Springfield, and every Illinois public employee who is paying attention knows what is going on here.
HB 1447 is one of several test runs. The bill is the exact deal they want to impose on members of the Teacher Retirement System. Employees must choose between health care subsidies and a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA).
Another attack on COLAs is on the ballot in November. Constitutional Amendment 49.
“This is not about teacher pensions,” says Kotowski.
The hell it’s not.
Look me in the eye and tell me we’re not next.
There are only two ways to look at the pension problem in Illinois: Fund it or cut it.
Employees say fund it.
Retirees say fund it.
The state employee unions say fund it.
The 360,000 members of TRS and many more in the other state pension plans say fund it.
The Illinois Constitution requires it be funded.
Senator Kotowski votes to cut it and writes op-ed pieces for newspapers all over the state demanding the House do the same.
Fred Klonsky 
Talk to Kotowski and he will tell you he has teachers in his family. He then turns around and votes on pension killing legislation and says its not against teachers Could this man be lacking credibility .
Sounds like Senator Kotowski needs a reality check! I’m a retired Health Facility Surveillance Nurse federally certified to this day and I’m not receiving “fat cat” pension benefits!! The politicians don’t pass bills in House, or Sentae, to cut their retirement benefits, or yearly COLA’s. BENEFITS for their families, also!! Surely not!!!!!!!!!!!!
Vote them out is the answer!! Let them sit on the outside and looik in—I have a lot of teachers in my family also, but they didn’t get their educations handed to them, or paid by State and Federal money. Can Senator Kotowski truthfully make the statement that his family members, with degrees in education, didn’t receive finacial assistance from S of F governments (which is same as “benefits”? Maybe they were born with “silver spoons” in their mouths.
It ceases to amuse me, how Senator Kotowski, and the other politicians voting against active and retired government employees “benefits” can sleep at night!! No conscience!! Has he ever stopped to consider the cost to Il. tax payers, when these bills are passed and the unions fall in line and file Federal lawsuits?? He doesn’t care, because he knows our benefits will be cut and remain that way, until the lawsuits are settled by the Supreme Court and the unions win!! Then it will take eons to reinstate our benefits and receive the back-pay. Just like the timeliness of the State in paying their bills!!! SHAMEFUL!!! Il. is the laughing stock of the nation, Senator Kotowski, and you are proud of being a head-liner in the making of it. Il. is a good State and thanks to people like you, Il.. citizens are being humiliated nationally 24/7 by you and your comrades.
He is not the only pol that talks this line. Many I have spoken to say the same thing. My sister, my mama, my cousin, my auntie, the list goes on. Then they vote to destroy the lives of retirees. They must think that we will be tricked by their false empathetic love but ignore their actions.
I would like to agree with the above poster to just vote these folks out. But have you ever seen so many running unopposed? Even so, they will still wait until after the November elections to put the screws to retired teachers. And if you do have a choice, who is running to protect our back? Who is on the side of working folks like teachers and cops and firefighters? who? No one.
This pension destruction plan has been in the works for a while. It started by politicians vilifying teachers at every turn. Once we are hated, it is pretty easy to destroy us. And that is what they will do. This constitutional amendment is beyond shameful. Hopefully all the unions will indeed line up and litigate until the cows come home. It is truly unreal that Sears, Motorola, CME, and other large businesses get tax breaks while teachers and other municipal employees get pension cuts.