EIU Professors Protest Pension Proposal
Updated: May 17, 2012
MATTOON -- Wednesday afternoon Eastern Illinois University professors along with members from the Illinois Education Association hit the pavement in front of Sen. Dale Righter's, R-Mattoon, Office. They held signs and chanted in response to Gov. Quinn's pension system proposal.
"If they're going to pass something slapped dash we're all going to have to live with it every month through every year for the rest of our years and our entire retirement," explained English Professor Fern Kory.
She's been teaching at the university for 22 years and said she doesn't plan on retiring any time soon. "Every decision I've made since 1990 has been on the assumption that it's been on the benefits that I was promised when I signed a contract in 1990," said Kory.
More than 50 people held signs, signed petitions and walked on the lawmaker's office front lawn at 88 Broadway Avenue. They urged the Senator to vote in their favor. Sen. Righter was in Springfield all day.
On April 20, the Governor proposed a plan he said would, save taxpayers $65 to $85 billion. It would include a 3 percent increase in employee contributions, reducing their cost of living from 3 percent or half of the simple interest, also increasing the retirement age to 67.
"I am upset about it that the state has went about it and put the blame on the teachers when the teachers aren't the problem with this in fact the teachers have made their payments they have not done that," said Angela Warmen, who is a member of the Illinois Education Association.
Warmen said they want to be part of the conversation, and want pensions to still be funded.
The state said medicaid and pensions now account for 39 percent of state's general revenue spending. It also admits, "the pension system is now under-funded by $83 billion due to decades of inadequate funding by past lawmakers and governors, and the promise of increased benefits without sufficient revenue to pay for those benefits."
"These are hard times, we know everyone is going to be looking at everything," explained Kory. "I really didn't know that it would be done in this way, that they would say we've got two weeks left and try to get it done without talking to anybody."
Sen. Righter said he doesn't have any record of sitting down and speaking with anyone from the group.
"If they're going to pass something slapped dash we're all going to have to live with it every month through every year for the rest of our years and our entire retirement," explained English Professor Fern Kory.
She's been teaching at the university for 22 years and said she doesn't plan on retiring any time soon. "Every decision I've made since 1990 has been on the assumption that it's been on the benefits that I was promised when I signed a contract in 1990," said Kory.
More than 50 people held signs, signed petitions and walked on the lawmaker's office front lawn at 88 Broadway Avenue. They urged the Senator to vote in their favor. Sen. Righter was in Springfield all day.
On April 20, the Governor proposed a plan he said would, save taxpayers $65 to $85 billion. It would include a 3 percent increase in employee contributions, reducing their cost of living from 3 percent or half of the simple interest, also increasing the retirement age to 67.
"I am upset about it that the state has went about it and put the blame on the teachers when the teachers aren't the problem with this in fact the teachers have made their payments they have not done that," said Angela Warmen, who is a member of the Illinois Education Association.
Warmen said they want to be part of the conversation, and want pensions to still be funded.
The state said medicaid and pensions now account for 39 percent of state's general revenue spending. It also admits, "the pension system is now under-funded by $83 billion due to decades of inadequate funding by past lawmakers and governors, and the promise of increased benefits without sufficient revenue to pay for those benefits."
"These are hard times, we know everyone is going to be looking at everything," explained Kory. "I really didn't know that it would be done in this way, that they would say we've got two weeks left and try to get it done without talking to anybody."
Sen. Righter said he doesn't have any record of sitting down and speaking with anyone from the group.
