Sangamon County Judge John Belz wrote of Lisa Madigan’s defense of pension theft:
The Pension Protection Clause contains no exception, restriction or limitation for an exercise of the State’s police powers or reserved sovereign powers. Illinois courts, therefore, have rejected the argument that the State retains an implied or reserved power to diminish or impair pension benefits.
Because the Act diminishes and impairs pension benefits and there is no legally cognizable affirmative defense, the Court must conclude that the Act violates the Pension Protection Clause of the Illinois Constitution. The Court holds that Public Act 98-0599 is unconstitutional.
The defendants have attempted to create a factual record to the effect that, if a reserved sovereign power to diminish or impair pensions existed, the facts would justify an exercise of that power. The defendants can cite to no Illinois case that would allow this affirmative defense.
Because the Court finds that no such power exists, it need not and does not reach the issue of whether the facts would justify the exercise of such a power if it existed, and the Court will not require the plaintiffs to respond to the defendants’ evidentiary submissions. The plaintiffs having obtained complete relief, the Court also need not address at this time the plaintiffs’ additional claims that the Act is unconstitutional or illegal on other grounds.
In summary, the State of Illinois made a constitutionally protected promise to its employees concerning their pension benefits. Under established and uncontroverted Illinois law, the State of Illinois cannot break this promise.
Remember when some of us (John Dillon, Glen Brown and Ken Previti among others) spoke out against SB 2404, a bill that the leaders of the We Are One Illinois coalition of state public employee unions came up with in talks with Senate leader John Cullerton? We said it would also result in an unconstitutional diminishment and impairment of our pension rights.
Some former and the current leadership disagreed.
They argued that it was too risky to depend on the courts.
They argued that it would be better to cut our losses and deal with the likes of Madigan and Cullerton.
Maybe they were right and perhaps we were lucky we got Judge Belz.
People tell me that the Supreme Court may not be as friendly and true to the language of the constitution.
They point to the U.S. Supreme Court which has been hijacked by right-wing ideologues.
And I don’t entirely disagree that the courts AND the political bodies are no reliable friends of the the working people of Illinois.
Far from it.
Appealing to any of them and to their sense of fairness, justice and equality often appears to be a fool’s errand.
Judge Belz seems like an honest man who looked at case-law and concluded that the state had no legal legs to stand on.
It appears now that the state’s top court will rule the same way.
However, nearly everyone who follows the fight for pension rights says the same thing.
No matter what the courts finally decide about Senate Bill 1, the political leadership of this state will come back at us again.
And again.
To fend off these attacks we need our leaders to not just look for the least risky line of defense.
We in Illinois have political leaders, both Democrats and Republicans, who see their role as that of soley protecting the interests of corporations and allowing the public assets to dwindle and be sold off to the highest bidder.
Meanwhile our state goes deeper into debt.
The political leaders refuse to raise taxes on their wealthy patrons.
Our pension liability now stands at over $111 billion.
Corruption involving our City and state pension funds runs amok, with Mayor Emanuel and Governor-elect Rauner receiving campaign kick-backs from pension fund managers.
This is a time that screams for union leadership that has fire in its belly, can draw a firm line in the sand that cannot be crossed and is willing to back it up.
The political leadership has no respect for the rule of law when it comes to the majority of its citizens.
Next time we may not get a Judge Belz.
Fred Klonsky 