What I am hearing:
Here is the deal:
Cullerton’s plan is his “choice” theory. Two options if we want to keep compounded COLA. 1) No healthcare access. Any salary hikes are non-pensionable OR 2) 3-year COLA freeze and a 2% additional pension contribution.
Updated: Current retirees would face a two year COLA freeze but keep access to TRIP. Cullerton claims this is supported by We Are One.
Updated:
Updated:
Update: ABC is reporting that Cullerton will not support the Madigan bill. He claims the courts are more likely to find his bill constitutional because of union support.
Update: The We Are One statement:
The We Are One Illinois coalition of unions announced today that it has reached a negotiated pension agreement with Illinois Senate President John Cullerton, who will sponsor the measure.
The following statement is attributable to Michael T. Carrigan, president of the Illinois AFL-CIO, on behalf of the We Are One Illinois coalition:
“The union coalition has made a great effort to ensure fairness for the public employees and retirees who did not cause this problem, to ensure the stability of the pension systems for future generations, and to offer a credible way forward. This agreement is our coalition’s bottom line.
“We continue to strongly oppose Speaker Madigan’s mega-bill, SB 1, which threatens to rob the retirement savings of teachers, police officers, and others in public service, by 20-40 percent. His proposal is not only drastically unfair, but it is blatantly unconstitutional, rendering any advertised savings fictional.
“We urge lawmakers from both parties in both chambers to embrace the agreed bill and oppose SB 1.”
Fred Klonsky 
See you in court.
Once we choose. Seal on deal is broken and state can hit us year after year
Like I said. Deja vu all over again.
I agree, once we agree to one change in the constitution, the legislature will keep making changes. We will have set a precedent. The reason the legislature will need to continue reducing pensions is the fact they have not addressed the real problem–lack of revenue.
I submitted my intent to retire in 2016 to my school district in December but it was not accepted by the school board until Jan 7, 2013. Where does that leave me with Cullerton’s new plan?
It is too early to tell. SB2404 is simply a bill at the moment. It must pass both the Senate and the House, which has already passed a different bill. And it may still be the subject of litigation if it survives all that.