Errand
Boys (Representatives
Morrison and Ives)
In the last dark scenes of Apocalypse Now (Scorsese’s disturbing tribute to Conrad’s Heart of Darkness), the character Kurtz
chides the calculated, diminutive act of his would-be assassin by reminding him
that he is no more than “an errand boy sent
by grocery clerks to collect a bill.”
Kurtz mutually belittles the soldier and his ordering officers for their
shameless self-advancement and intentional ignorance of the truth. It would seem, in this case, that Illinois political
life mirrors art.
The Illinois
Policy Institute, a conservative think-tank with strong ties to ALEC (see earlier blogs) and offices in
Chicago and Springfield, has sent two errand boys to do their bidding in the 2013
Illinois General Assembly. The IPI’s
design, as it has always been, is to free all business from government
interference; in fact espousing, “when free market ideas are turned into law”
all will be better for people (http://illinoispolicy.org/content/?section=456&t=About-Us). The IPI also explains its mission as one of advancing
education policies, but only of a certain kind as evidenced by their active membership
in the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) Exchange. Indeed, their current executive vice
president Kristina Rasmussen has written and presented model ideas for pension
reform for ALEC (http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Illinois_Policy_Institute).
Now, with HB 3303, we can see just how that pension
reform would look if ALEC or the Illinois Policy Institute’s Tea Party errand
boys could get some traction. Actually,
to understand how radical and far right these two sponsors are we might want to
look at the bill.
HB3303 was introduced by Representative Tom Morrison
(Palatine) in February and co-sponsored by Representative Jeanne Ives (Wheaton). Don’t be fooled. The bill was not written by Representative
Morison or Ives – they’re mere errand boys.
The real clerks were Jon Tillman and Kristina Rasmussen at the IPI. In fact, even Representative Ives’ site authenticates
the true authors as the IPI. Probably
for many smart reasons, no one else has signed on.
That does not deter the IPI from championing its own
far-right bill. John Tillman, the CEO of
the Illinois Policy Institute, made several exclamations as to the worthiness
of the HB3303 on WTTW’s Chicago Tonight during a recap of the Governor’s budget
speech this March. Although Ralph
Martire, the director for the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability pointed
out very likely unconstitutional issues with the proposed bill, Tillman
overrode the former’s concerns with a loud “We’ll see,” and That’s debatable”
The bill’s brief description is a “Pension Service
Credit Freeze.” Within HB3303, the bill “Provides that no additional service credit may be accrued and no
automatic increase in a retirement annuity shall be received for all five
state-funded services. Provides that the pensionable salary of an active
participant may not exceed that individual's pensionable salary as of the
effective date. Provides that State-funded retirement systems shall establish
self-directed retirement plans for all active participants and all employees
hired on or after the effective date. Provides that all active participants
shall have the option of participating in a self-directed retirement plan.
Provides that these changes are controlling over any other law. Effective
immediately.
“
Regardless of the pension protection clause in the Illinois Constitution,
“diminish or impair” seem to be the very themes of HB3303, but that does not
deter CEO Tillman. He’s groomed Ives
philosophically and monetarily as she ran for office, and she has been ever
grateful for his economic support and the support he gives to many state Republicans
(http://homerlockportillinoisteaparty.org/2012/05/29/message-to-ilgop-candidates-listen-to-what-people-say-but-watch-what-they-do/).
As a Tea Party candidate, she welcomes the opportunity to read IPI
statements at gatherings: (http://ives.ilhousegop.org/2013/02/illinois-policy-institute-proposes-plan-to-fix-states-budget-pension-problems/). For Ives, Illinois has a spending problem,
not a revenue problem. And pensions are
a spending problem. Ives announces in her Tribune editorial piece of March 8th, she would "circle that number (budget) with my red Sharpie and write, 'Check your math.'" Ives goes on to boast that her and Morrison's plan would put $7 billion back in the people's pockets and reduce the unfunded pension liability by half. By half? Look again at HB3303, Rep. Ives, and "Check your constitution." After all, you swore an oath to uphold it.
As for Representative Morrison, running a business that capitalizes on
disaster cleanup, he has probably come to the perfect occupation as a
legislator in Illinois. On the other hand, some analogies in interviews seem a
bit simplified. Comparing the pension
issues in Illinois to the business design for disaster cleanup, Representative
Morrison reports that you can’t fix a dry wall problem while water is “still
gushing in – the building’ condition will worsen until the underlying issue
gets resolved”
Of course, his IPI simplified plan to eliminate any increases in pension
liabilities despite contractual promises might indicate whether or not
Representative Morrison’s own business earns a positive rating from the customers or
businesses he services. What contract?
Meanwhile, Mr. Tillman and the Illinois Policy Institute enjoy a curious
presence on WTTW, where the CEO holds court with pronouncements like “HB3303 is
a good bill” despite even Carol Marin’s somewhat astonished silence. And, of course, Tillman likes to promote his organization’s
non-partisan, non-philosophical approach – it’s all just good business, my friend. And you with a pension stand in his way. Beyond the IPI’s site endorsement of the
Civic Committee’s promotions, Mr. Tillman is promoting the “Pension Project” –
an attempt to avoid paying what is (thank you, Helen Kinney and Henry Green)
due to workers in Illinois. His argument
is that pensions are costing too much across the nation, not that Illinois has
created an unfunded liability. Representatives
Morrison and Ives believe him. Pensions
are the problem, not the underfunding – freeze them all and get out of the
business all together. Besides, Tillman
has other objectives to accomplish. As
soon as he completes this task, he wants to move on to California. Find new errand boys. It’s all part of the ALEC strategic plan for the country
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