Illinois Pension Crisis

Again, looking through articles and trying to find my way into the facts, I found myself staring at an article from npr.org titled, "Shortfall Threatens Illinois Pension System". The author, David Schaper, took the approach I was looking for: really discovering what caused this mass pension crisis and what position the state is now in. "According to the Pew Center on the States, Illinois is worst in the nation when it comesto setting aside enough money for its pensions". Basically, Illinois is not meeting the standards already set for paying into pension funds and not overspending money that the state may not actually have. However, through a study in 2008 on states' pension funds, Illinois set aside just 54% of the money that's been promised to workers and retirees. Those kinds of shortcomings and lack of money has now set Illinois back $77.8 billion dollars that the state now owes towards pensions and unpaid pensions. Lawrence Msall, president of The Civic Federation, a Chicago-based group that keeps tabs on state and local government finances stated that, "...the pension underfunding has grown dramatically by almost 300 to 400 percent over the last decade, because the state has used gimmicks...it has ignored its pension obligations, it has borrowed or had partial pension holidays, and it has just flat out not made the adequate contributions to the pensions". These kinds of blatant ignorances for a state is simply appauling and not to mention widely unacceptable. Illinois has the worst track record in terms of staying on top of pension payments and meeting requirements, in many ways "shooting themselves in the foot" for future years. They are currently working on finding ways to meet the pension payments they owe, which at this point are simply growing each year. I guess the state will just have to sit back and see how the local government is going to handle this disaster.

Illinois Pension Crisis

One essential aspect of my project was to find out what the other side was saying; what those legislators hiding in the capitol buildinghad been releasing to newspapers about the situation and the state of, well, the state. I decided that researching what the press was saying was important because that was half of the driving force behind the entire pension explosion: to a certain extent, it was a he-said-she-said game. The teachers were crying that it was the state's fault and the state was pointing their fingers at the teachers and somehow through all of the yelling, there was no way to truly understand what the truth was. I went on WSJ.com, found the US tab and began looking through the impressive collection of Illinois pension articles when I came across one article titled, "Illinois Pension Crisis Eludes Easy Solutions", written by Michael Corkery. In the article, it basically summarized the entire pension problem, but its focus seemed to zero-in on what he possible solutions were to the problem aswell as what lawmakers were hoping the revisions would be. "The lawmakers are also entertaining the politicallydifficult idea of applying broader pension changes made this year for newly hired employees to current workers". This could mean that new employees would be in a position of not recieving their pensions as early as others, it could mean having to pay more into the pension fund, some new teachers may not recieve their pensions at all, and even still, many districts may have other money taken out of school budgets to make up for the state's mistakes. These potential revisions also put the future of teachers at risk because without the availability to a pension and knowing that teachers do not have access to social security because of the pension program, many students may no longer entertain the idea of becoming a teacher due to insufficient benefits. However, the problem still remains...Illinois has $82 billion unfunded pensions liability that is projected to grow to $139.8 billion in 2030. So the question is, What is the fate of the pensions?

Illinois Pension Crisis and SB7

While researching the actual legislation that is being discussed around the pension crisis in Illinois, I found a website, http://www.ieanea.org/banner/get-information-on-the-school-reform-bill-sb7-here/, that allowed me an inside look at what is actually being changed as well as what changes within the writing will help or hurt the current issue. Some of the background info of what the bill lays out is as follows:

Key Provisions of Senate Bill 7

Educators Voices Will Be Heard

From the beginning of discussions, IEA,IFT,CTU refused to give in on the subject of our

members’ collective bargaining rights,

collective bargaining in the Performance Counts proposal.

SB 7 retains teachers’ democratic right to negotiate with their employers,

despite the call for the elimination of

ensuring their professional input factors into important discussions about class size,

curriculum and other areas that impact student learning and success.

SB 7 also maintains the right to strike for both Chicago and downstate teachers.

For teachers outside of Chicago, the bill includes a provision requiring management and

labor to make their last, best offers public for 14 days after unsuccessful mediation.

Other existing strike provisions remain unchanged. For teachers in Chicago Public

Schools, the IFT and IEA were unwavering in their support of keeping CTU’s right to

strike.

Experience Counts

IEA,IFT and CTU worked hard in the face of strong opposition to ensure that

teachers’ years of experience into account in decisions about filling vacancies.

SB 7 takes

Under the bill, districts would consider numerous factors in making such decisions,

including certification, qualifications, performance and relevant experience. The definition

(criteria) of relevant experience can be bargained.

SB 7 also establishes new Reduction in Force (RIF) procedures for teachers

outside of Chicago.

Effective immediately upon passage, a complex system of “performance tiers” will be

established that:

• existing law;

First, establishes categories of teaching positions, as is currently done under

qualifications;

Second, places teachers in each category who have the required certifications and

• tiers,” which are defined based upon tenured status and varying levels of

performance ratings.

Third, places teachers in each category into one of four groups, or “performance

• The bill requires that RIF notices be sent 45 days (previously 60) before the end of the school term. In addition, it defines that qualifications can now include criteria other than legal ones, but districts have strict timelines on publishing qualifications and job descriptions for positions prior to sending RIF notices.

Finally, ranks teachers within each category by seniority.

Existing collective bargaining agreements with RIF sequence language will be grandfathered until expiration, or until June 30, 2013, whichever comes sooner.

Tenure that Ensures High-Quality Teachers Lengthy and serious discussion in this area resulted in positive changes in current tenure laws, which will take effect after PERA implementation. IEA, IFT and CTU believe these changes our best new teachers are granted tenure benefits within reasonable timeframes. will promote the integrity of the teaching profession by ensuring that

Under SB 7, the standard probationary period to obtain tenure remains four years.

To obtain tenure during a

four-year period a teacher must:

• have two “proficient” or “excellent” ratings in two of the last three years;

o a “proficient” or “excellent” rating is required in the fourth year.

IEA, IFT and CTU were able to negotiate an accelerated tenure process into SB 7

to allow exceptional new teachers the ability to achieve tenure in just three years. To obtain tenure in a each of his/her first three years. SB 7 will also provide the benefit of three-year period a teacher must receive “excellent” ratings intenure portability within Illinois districts when:

• The teacher is granted tenure in one district, and

•“Excellent.”

When either of the two criteria are met, a teacher, upon moving to a new district, will be Eligible for tenure in that district in two years with “excellent” performance. This provision will take effect after PERA implementation.

These provisions will allow teacher's rights to be heard and respected without the elimination or silencing of teachers unions. Much of the writing also included the importance of maintaining the pension system and finding other ways to solve Illinois' "Broke" state. With the help of SB7, the pension crisis may have a light at the end of the tunnel.

Illinois Pension Crisis

One of my major sources for this project is the blog by Fred Klonsky at http://preaprez.wordpress.com/page/2/. Fred is my Uncle Mike's brother and has not only been an educator for many years, but has also made it his mission to bring light to the current issue about pension in Illinois. Fred's posts have helped me because it allows me to grasp an inside look at a teacher's perspective about the issue. One of his most recent posts included details about the trip to Springfield that many teachers made in order to make a case to legislators about their proposed solutions to the pension issues. Some of Illinois most recent ideas have included raising the age that pensions can be recieved, lowering the actual amount of money that will be included in any given pension, potentially raising taxes and ultimately having citizens pay for their own pensions, and some legislators have even considered canceling pensions all together until Illinois can gain back the money that they seemingly do not have. As one may have assumed, none of these options have been sitting well with teachers. Many critics of the situation have found that blaming the teachers is the way to go and others have gone as far as to say that teachers are not as important as CEOs or leaders of Fortune 500 companies and shouldn't even be paid as much as they are currently being paid. These kinds of assumptions and closed-minded comments are what is majorly setting back the ability for us to move forward with the issue and continue finding answers. The trip to Springfield was ultimatelty a successful one and the mass group of teachers that drove down made a statement for those all around the state who are at risk of being shoved to the side at the end of the situation.

Illinois Pension Crisis

When I was first deciding what I was going to research for our "Marketplace of Ideas" final issues project, I wasn't really sure what I would be able to find that we had not already somewhat touched upon in class discussions. We have researched and talked about everything from abortion to school violence, race or religion, freedom of speech or Invisible Children. I was on a mission to find something that had not necessarily been a big topic of discussion in class and something I could really dive into and teach people about.

 The Illinois Pension Crisis, as some like to put it, is a fairly new development in the economic standings of pension for teachers in Illinois. After the protests and chaos that ensued around the Wisconsin decision to cut out unions in negotiations for benefits as well as their collective bargaining rights, many states began to worry about the possibility that they may be targeted next. While the teacher’s unions in Illinois are safe, their pensions may not be. Each state in the United States of America is required to pay a pre-set amount of money into the pension fund for their state, ultimately paying the government so they in return can keep up with the demand of pension that is given to teachers after retirement. Around 1994, the Illinois government decided that they no longer wanted to pay into this system, therefore creating their own pension system that was kept within the state and allowed somewhat of a loophole for the state and allowing teachers to keep their growing pensions. While this seemed like a decent idea at the time, the more months and years that passed started adding up, in return continually adding to the amount of money Illinois owed to the government and their implemented pension fund. Now, seventeen years later, the government wants the billions of dollars Illinois owes to the pension fund and Illinois is screaming mercy because according to the state government; we’re broke! We don’t have the millions and millions of dollars that we should have been paying the government just like every other state did because we thought there was a way out and instead the country was keeping a tab on how much debt we were in with the pension fund. Now that the state is in this “pickle” if you will, the teachers are getting repeatedly bashed for their unwillingness to simply give up their pensions. Not many are focusing on the state and how the state government messed up, but instead are placing blame towards teachers who don’t want to give up the money some have worked 20+ years for. There has been talk of legislative reforms to make gaining pension slightly more difficult, possibly raising taxes, and even keeping money from some teachers because of the growing debt that Illinois has dug for themselves.

What's Going on in the World?

Wisconsin Union Fight

The problems that have sparked in Wisconsin, Indiana and Ohio have grabbed national attention. The governor of Wisconsin, Scott Walker, put out legislation ultimately undercutting collective bargaining and the ability to organize in unions. Governor Walker, being the first Republican governor Wisconsin has had in some time, has upset not only the middle class workers of Wisconsin, but also the Democratic lawmakers who feel he is simply out to get the unions because of their agreement to cut wages and benefits to help balance finances within the state. With the dispute heating up, many Democrats decided to actually flee the state in order to avoid voting on the issue, further postponing the decision and allowing the fight for justice to ultimately continue. The Democratic concern about Mr. Walker's motives were highlighted when a prank call revealed his plans to not only carry out his plan, but also the Republicans plot to trick Democrats back into the Capitol, ultimately trapping them and therefore coming to a conclusion on the issue that has sparked so much controversy. Walker claimed that the phone call was simply a distraction to him, but that his legislation on the issues concerning unions-- which would take away union power to bargain on anything besides pay-- was simply an effort to improve the tough financial situation the state is currently in. He claimed that the legislation overall would save the state 1.44 billion dollars, but as the riots continue it would seem that the state is only losing money after the protests closed down local schools in Wisconsin as well as other businesses and jobs for a few days. Only time will tell if the problem gets resolved or if the Democrats of Wisconsin will simply be hiding in the Chicago area forever.

I became aware of the issues going on through news stories, but I was more aware than ever when I took a trip to the University of Wisconsin and drove through the protesting for a good five minutes. The issue that is being protested is one that I feel is worth fighting for and I respect what teachers as well as other unions are doing to try and stop the legislation from passing. My mom is a teacher so I know how upset she would be about the entire situation and to be perfectly honest, I think the governor is being completely closed-minded about the state's financial situation. I am not in any way trying to play down the severity of their financial problems, but I simply cannot believe that the ONLY way to improve debt is by taking away the rights of unions across the state. While I thought the fleeing of Democrats to Illinois from Wisconsin was somewhat childish in a way, I can understand their outrage and the proposal for this legislation as well because they are firm believers in the rights of unions and the importance of respecting middle-class workers. The most shocking part of the situation to me was probably the prank phone call made by Ian Murphy, a blogger in New York, not just because of the somewhat humorous nature of prank calling a governor; but the simple fact that Mr. Murphy got answers from the governor that are essential to the decision by both Democrats and other Republicans. The idea to "trick" Democrats into voting for the legislation completely disgusted me and I feel that as a governor, the protesting by unions and fleeing of Democrats should be a red flag that maybe your "grand decision" may not be as golden as it was a few weeks ago. People are clearly unhappy, people that voted for Mr. Walker are clearly unhappy, and I for one would be surprised if he makes it through the rest of his term with no problems. Taking away the rights of unions is the exact opposite of what unions are supposed to do. Workers unions as well as teachers unions were put in place to protect the rights of those within the union and tries to cut out the opportunity for lawmakers and business-owners to exploit their work and pay. I think the entire idea of the legislation is single minded and completely ineffective leaving the governor looking more like a stubborn fifth-grader than an established and respected politician.

Mock Trial Recap

During the trials, I found myself considering the issues of sexual harassment in a very different way because in the beginning I considered sexual harassment to be very black and white. Without consent of sex, it can be considered rape; in an office, asking for sexual favors in exchange for job opportunities is harassment as well as illegal. However, I found that sexual harassment was more than just black and white. There were gray areas. Everywhere. Did the woman actually say no or was saying no a game her and her boyfriend often played, did the man at the office actually say things with sexual overtones or was he trying to be friendly and the other employee simply took the comments too seriously. Tons of gray area. This was a concept I struggled with as the entire trial process began to unfold because gray area can be tricky and it takes a lot of detail to dilute gray back to black or white. In the first trial, I thought Kevin Murphy was guilty the second I heard Elyse Robert's testimony. Black and white. But then the details of her attendance as well as her normal conduct in the office were brought to light and my so sure opinion was being tested with every testimony. In the end, we as a jury came to a pretty unanimous decision of guilty, which I have to say I agree with. The most compelling facts for me was Elyse's need for therapy after her encounters with Kevin, the lack of help given to her by her supervisor as well as others who knew about the harassment, and the comments Kevin seemed to be making to her in the office. These facts drove me to the conclusion that Kevin was in fact guilty and that the verdict was the right one. The only thing I can think of that would have changed my mind about the verdict of guilty was if the supervisors would have done something to remedy the situation and then the harassment had stopped because then the solution would have been reached and taking the issue to court would have been a gross over exaggeration by Elyse.

In the other trial, I felt that the trial really could have gone either way. The question that I kept asking myself, even on the prosecuting side was whether or not Susan Williams actually had the opportunity to leave and chose not to or whether she simply stayed due to the force of David Jones. I would have to say that I was frustrated with the verdict of innocent because of how well I felt I knew the case and I personally thought there was more evidence supporting guilty rather than innocent. I think that the most compelling facts the jury somewhat ignored was David's testimony alone. He openly states Susan said no, but proceeded to tear her shirt, put on a condom before anything even happened between them, and said he was somewhat frustrated by the lack of sex they were having in the relationship. I can understand both sides to be honest and I think there were many more pieces of evidence to consider in the second case because of the subjectivity of the testimonies.

I think after sitting through this mock trial experience I have found that it is very important for people to understand not only the severity of sexual harassment, but also the different kinds of sexual harassment that actually fall into the category. While the gray area is irritating, it is important to recognize because many of the answers fall into the middle ground where one piece of evidence or one statement can truly alter whether or not harassment actually took place. I do not feel there are real sexual harassment problems at Deerfield, but I also do not want to discount that it could be happening. Just because I have not seen or experienced it first-hand does not mean it might not be happening to someone else. A big problem with the existence or non-existence of sexual harassment is the lack of knowledge of what constitutes as sexual harassment. A kid may whistle at another or make a sexual joke, but where is the line? Some students may be more sensitive to comments with sexual overtones where as others may feel they are harmless comments clearly made for entertainment and poking fun at another. I think the reason sexual harassment may not be a problem here is simply because those kinds of actions I feel are taken very seriously by both the faculty and the students. I feel we are bright enough as a student body to understand that full blown sexual harassment is not acceptable. Then again, as I stated before, it is really up to each individual student whether or not they feel a certain comment or action is sexual harassment or jokes made by immature teenagers. Either way, if a student feels they are being sexually harassed it is the faculties responsibility to take these claims seriously and not dictate whether they feel the situation is sexual harassment or not. It is important for students to feel they are being protected so each claim needs to be carried out and remedied in order to keep a safe, productive, and sexual harassment free learning environment for all students.