CAT Tracks for February 12, 2005 DAVIS ON PENSIONS

"Don't Punish Our Pensions," IEA Urges Lawmakers

2/11/2005

Springfield, IL The president of the state’s largest education employees’ organization is urging the General Assembly to reject proposals reducing or restricting pension benefits for education employees.

Anne Davis, president of the 120,000 member Illinois Education Association (IEA) cautioned lawmakers to be mindful of history as proposals to punish the pensions of education employees and state workers are introduced.

"The financial problems related to pensions of education employees are the result of bad policy decisions made by past General Assemblies. Punishing today’s teachers and education employees because legislators under funded pensions is unfair, wrong and another example of bad public policy."

According to Davis, IEA strongly opposes any reduction in our benefits for current participants or new hires and opposes any increase in pension contributions by active members. Further, the IEA is strongly opposed to any reduction in the current pension funding formula.

"Benefits for education employees are far from exorbitant. Our benefits are comparable to those for similar workers in similar states," Davis said.

"The great state of Illinois has a troubled history when it comes to honoring its commitments to public education in general and education employees in particular. It’s time for Illinois to fulfill its obligation to the people who work so hard for students," she added.

The Illinois Education Association represents elementary and secondary teachers, education support professionals, higher education instructors and support staff, retired educators and college students preparing to become teachers. IEA is an affiliate of the National Education Association (NEA).

Members Only: For more information, go to the "Capitol Report" page on the IEA website. For your everyday convenience, this page can be accessed by clicking the link for "General Assembly" in "The Latest News..." section of the CAT home page.