Dear Constituent:

Thank you for contacting my office and expressing your concern about my recent vote for pension reform.

This was one of the toughest decisions I have made this year, if not in my career. Please know that I took the time to think through this decision, weighed all options and finally decided to vote for pension reform for the following reasons:

• Funding for health care, mental health, public housing, child care and the homeless are targeted when the state cannot balance the budget. As the Chair of the Illinois Senate Human Services Committee, I could no longer, in good conscience, watch social and human services suffer cuts in the name of balancing the budget.

• I have stood by teachers, state employees and unions from the time I entered office. I have voted in favor of most measures aimed toward helping those affected by pension reform.

• This problem has been decades in the making and is the result of the state not putting enough money into the pension systems. I opposed previous plans because they took too much away from workers and retirees to make up for the state’s inaction. The plan I supported includes nearly $30 billion in added state funding for worker pensions. I supported this compromise because it puts the burden on the state, where it belongs.

• Unions representing public employees have already threatened legal action if the governor signs this bill. If that happens, the Supreme Court ultimately will decide whether the bill is constitutional. We can revisit SB 2404 if it is struck down, which I believe is much fairer and passes constitutional muster.

I understand your frustration with the system, with my vote and with the situation that Illinois is facing. We would have faced a $2.4 billion shortfall in the next budget if we didn’t act on the pension changes. My vote was to stop the bleeding.

Thank you for being engaged in this issue.

Sincerely,