North Cook News

Republican state House candidate Amanda Biela worries how much longer the Illinois pension system can survive without major reforms.

“I really don't think we talk enough about actual pension reform,” Biela recently posted on Facebook. “And I say this as (a) taxpayer and also as someone who comes from a pension family. I am seriously worried that the whole system will become completely insolvent in the next 10 years.”

Biela’s concerns were sparked by news that the Illinois’ legislature recently approved a $423 million bond buyout. Part of the state’s $38.5 billion fiscal 2019 budget, the buyout is the state’s latest effort to curb its $129 billion pension debt.

The plan works by allowing current employees to collect the 3 percent compounded cost-of-living adjustments in their benefits for 70 percent of the value and 1.5 percent less of their living adjustments. Another option could pave the way for retirees to take 60 percent of their lifetime pension in one lump-sum payment.

While Gov. Bruce Rauner has hailed the plan as a “step in the right direction,” Biela, who is running against Democratic incumbent Rep. John C. D’Amico (D-Chicago) in the 15th House District, doesn’t seem quite so sure.

“The state can only kick the can so far down the road before it rusts away,” she added on Facebook. “I absolutely believe in promises made, promises kept. But if we don't entertain some actual reforms (especially for new hires), there is no way those promises can be kept.”

In another post, Biela warned that just because politicians describe something in one way doesn’t necessarily make it true.

“Remember, just because politicians say it's 'balanced' doesn't mean it actually is,” she wrote, referring to the newly passed $38.5 billion budget that was signed into law by Rauner.

Critics of the plan point out that an analysis by the Illinois Policy Institute already estimates that it could be as much as $1.5 billion out of balance.