Teachers’ unions in Illinois are telling lawmakers that the state’s 2010 pension reforms ‘stole’ money from teachers. The accusation is part of the pitch to expand pension benefits in Illinois. Despite 130 billion-dollars of pension debt, and the ever increasing amount of money the state spends on retirement benefits every year, the unions say Tier Two pensions are not fair. Tier Two pensions are less generous when it comes to the compounding COLA that has spiked pension costs in Illinois. The Illinois Federation of Teachers last week told lawmakers that Tier Two pensions must be expanded.
