A Freshman and Ethical Representative: Robert
Martwick of the 19th District
Various legislators’ justifications and rationalizations for
their positive vote on Madigan’s new version of SB1 have been piling up in my
incoming mail like loose debris on a west-Texas fence line. Are you getting them too?
Most of mine begin with “it was a tough choice” or “one of
the hardest decisions in my life.”
Sitting here at the conclusion of their ends-justifies-the-means frenzy on Black Tuesday, we can certainly agree. On the other hand, “tough” may describe their December 3rd position, but it will quite possibly assure more than a singular
moment for many other public sector working families. Even years of tough or desperate choices...
Of course, the SB1 legislators will always have the Tribune and the Civic
Federation to extol the action taken on Black Tuesday, but in keeping with my
continued search for a new Representative or a new Senator, I’d like to keep a
list of possible new faces places to reside in Illinois.
Representative Martwick feels the need to “cover” for his
fellows in the General Assembly in the official position statement he released
earlier this week, but his own position is ethically refreshing. For his complete communiqué, read to the end
of his beginning statements. Thanks.
Pension Reform Statement from Representative Martwick
Dear Neighbor,
On Tuesday, the Illinois legislature
approved a plan to change the state's pension system. This plan was
passed by the narrowest of margins in both chambers and is expected to be
signed into law by Governor Quinn. I voted NO on this legislation.
Below, you will find my analysis of the bill and the explanation for my
vote. If you have any questions about how this legislation might affect
you, please do not hesitate to contact me or my staff.
The legislature has been working non-stop
to find a solution to the pension crisis. Every single member of the
legislature is committed to finding a solution that is constitutional,
addresses the unfunded liability, and preserves the pension system and the
benefits earned by employees. Everyone recognizes that we must fix the
problem. However, there are fundamental disagreements about the right way
to accomplish those goals. While I thought this bill had some very
positive aspects, it still fell far short of what was needed to accomplish the
goals in a fair and respectful manner.
Why
I voted NO:
1. I gave my word that employees
would have a seat at the table.
There is only one indisputable fact:
The employees did not create the problem. This pension crisis was
created by former governors and legislators who skipped payments and borrowed
against the system. Meanwhile, the employees made every single required
contribution. It is also indisputable that if the government had made the
required payments, there would be no problem. The system would be fully
funded and sustainable. Now the system is broken and the only way to fix
it is through a combination of changes that include cuts to benefits that were
promised to people who didn't cause the problem. I have always maintained
that these employees have earned a right to a seat at the negotiating table.
They should have, at the minimum, been included in discussions about the
solution, since it is their money that will be taken to fix the problem.
When I ran for this office, I promised that I would demand that our
friends and neighbors who are public employees, and who were without fault, be
given the respect that they earned and a seat at the table. They were
not.
2. The legislation was not afforded
a democratic process.
This bill was crafted by a group of
committed and hard working legislators with only the best of intentions.
Nonetheless, the details of this bill were not released to the rest of
the legislature, or any party affected until less than 24 hours before we
were scheduled to vote. I love democracy and I believe that we have the
best system of government in the world. The only way to ensure that we
can enjoy the benefits of democracy are to accept the issues that go along with
it. This bill is a massive bill that affects every single person in our
state. It affects employees, tax payers, students, seniors and businesses.
We should have been given more time to discuss and debate this bill.
That's the process and the responsibility and I cannot accept it being
shirked.
3. This bill stripped collective
bargaining rights from public employees.
I am a strong supporter of the rights of
ALL Americans to collectively bargain for a better workplace. I believe
that this is a fundamental right afforded by democracy and it should not be
diminished. This bill would have stripped the rights of employees to
collectively bargain pension benefits. Recently, scores of Illinoisans boarded
buses and rode to Madison Wisconsin to stand alongside public employees whose
collective bargaining rights were under attack by Gov. Scott Walker. I
cannot in good conscience vote for the same type of action here in Illinois.
4. This legislation may cause great
harm to the state university system.
A top tier state university
system is critical to the future of our state. More than simply a school,
it provides both educational opportunities and a chance for a better life to
all citizens of Illinois. It is also an economic engine that brings
enormous amounts of research and development dollars to our state economy.
Professor Jeffrey Brown is a University of Illinois economist who received
his PhD from MIT. He is one of the very brightest minds and most
respected scholars on the topics of pension administration. Basically, he knows more about pension systems
than ANYONE. He stated publicly that this bill will make it
nearly impossible for the University of Illinois to attract and retain top
professors and researchers to the school. The end result will be a
profound diminishment of the university's ranking amongst the nations best
schools. That means a lesser education for our children, which means
fewer opportunities for them to compete with college graduates from other
states. Professor Brown offered a plan that he believed would have
secured the pension systems without gutting the university. Yet, despite
the fact that he is clearly one of the brightest minds on this subject, his
plan was very quickly dismissed.
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