Dear Supporter,
Today, the We Are One Illinois coalition and a group of active and retired public employees filed suit in Sangamon County Circuit Court in Springfield to overturn pension-slashing Senate Bill 1 (SB1).
Our suit argues that the “pension theft” law violates the pension clause of the Illinois Constitution, which unequivocally states that a public employee’s pension is a contract that the state cannot diminish or impair.
In addition to our union coalition, a total of 25 individual active and retired public workers from every part of Illinois are named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit. These teachers, police officers, nurses, caregivers, prison employees, firefighters and others are standing up for hundreds of thousands of their peers by seeking justice to right the wrongs of politicians who shirked their responsibility to uphold the constitution.
Defendants in the lawsuit are Governor Pat Quinn, other constitutional officers, the state retirement systems and their boards.
You can access the full complaint on our website, WeAreOneIllinois.org.
We strongly believe SB1 should not be implemented before a court makes its decision on its constitutionality. Consequently, We Are One Illinois has sought for the past several weeks to reach agreement with the state Attorney General and the named defendants on a joint request to the court to enjoin the law’s implementation. Regrettably, the Attorney General refused. In our filing, our coalition reserves the right to seek an injunction.
Again, for more information and continuing updates on the pension fight, go to the We Are One Illinois website and ‘like’ the coalition’s Facebook page.
Thanks for all you do.
We Are One Illinois