Illinois Supreme Court: Pension-cutting law is "unconstitutional"

  

 

Illinois AFL-CIO president Michael T. Carrigan issued the following statement on behalf of the We Are One Illinois coalition of unions that represent public employees and retirees:  "We are thankful that the Supreme Court has unanimously upheld the will of the people, overturned this unfair and unconstitutional law, and protected the hard-earned life savings of teachers, police, fire fighters, nurses, caregivers and other public service workers and retirees."

 

The court's full decision can be read here. And, watch this video for IEA President Cinda Klickna's comments.

Supreme Court's decision nationwide news

Many articles nationwide reported on the Supreme Court's unanimous ruling that the 2013 law designed to change pension benefits "violated the provision of the state's constitution".  
 

 

Illinois Supreme Court Rejects Lawmakers Pension Overhaul - The New York Times
 

Illinois Pension Clash Raises Question: Who Raises Taxes, Lawmakers Or The Courts? - Forbes
 

Illinois supreme court overturns state's 2013 pension reform law - Reuters

 

25 years and going strong

 

- Dave Bishop, IEA-Retired Secretary-Treasurer

 

The 25th Anniversary of the founding of the IEA Retired (IEA-R) served as the basis for our last Retired Conference, held April 11 at the Doubletree-Oakbrook. Our 25th Anniversary Conference was one of the best attended events hosted by IEA-R.

 

Twelve different interest sessions were offered. The Illinois Legislative Panel Discussion allowed members to interact with legislators about retired concerns. The Make It and Take It session gave people an opportunity to make a necklace or bracelet of their own design. Zumba Gold saw members move and groove with low-impact dancing. Around the World Web offered more than 80 apps for computers and iPhones that could answer senior wants and needs.

 

The highlight of the luncheon was a dynamic presentation, IEA-Retired 25th Anniversary - A trip down memory lane - A history, recognition and celebration, compiled and presented by Janet Kilgus, IEA-R Chair. It was a very special tribute to the many people who have made IEA-R such a successful part of the IEA family.

 

Beginning this October, there will be one conference that will serve three of the major groups within the IEA: IEA Retired, IEA Education Support Professionals (ESP) and IEA Higher Education. This conference is the first one bringing all three groups together, and is scheduled to be held at the Doubletree in Oak Brook on Oct. 16-17. Save the date!

 

A joint committee is meeting in the next few weeks to finalize plans for the program which will be printed and sent to members of all of these groups this summer. The entire hotel will be taken up with this multifaceted conference. Watch for more information once plans are finalized.


   

Retired mentors enjoy volunteering at Spring Student Conference

- by Linda Walcher, "retiring" IEA-Retired Mentor Program coordinator

 

Once again, retired mentors volunteered to help at the Spring Student Conference. This year the Conference was held at the Embassy Suites in East Peoria April 24-25. The nine mentors who attended this Spring Conference were: Pat Ziegler, Sara Kaufman, Christine Frank, Jack Tucker, Luellen Betzelberger, Joanna Martin, Janet Kilgus, Gayla Dial and Linda Walcher. Eight of these mentors had mentees who were also attending the conference, which gave the pairs an opportunity to meet up and eat lunch together on Saturday. The mentors offer their help at the IEA-R raffle table, community project table, T-shirt sales and wherever else they are needed.  

 

This year, the mentors also had an "ask a mentor" table which went well at its debut at the fall conference, but was even more popular at the spring conference with the increase of fabulous free raffle prizes. These prizes were donated from a few retired chapters around the state and from some individual retired mentors. We had 14 prizes in all and they were coveted by the students who were given free tickets to enter into the raffle. The students were prompted to engage in discussion and ask questions of the retired teacher mentors in order to get their free tickets. The mentors enjoyed the opportunity for discussion with the students and handed tickets out freely. It was a lot of fun and we enjoyed giving out the prizes at the end of the conference!  

 

If you or your rertired chapter would like to donate a prize for our "ask a mentor" table next year, please contact Gayla Dial, Retired Mentor Program coordinator. We appreciate all your support in helping the program (soon to be in its 17th year!) to maintain a vital and worthwhile relationship with the future educators in the student program! 

IEA-R board report

 

 

 

 

 

Read the May IEA-R board report, as submitted by Janet Kilgus, (shown) IEA-R Chair.

 

And, visit the IEA-R website for current information.

NEAchieve can save you money!

 

 

Check out NEAchieve!, a free monthly e-newsletter, exclusively for NEA members, that delivers useful tips and information based on your preferences!  

Connect with IEA!

IEA Connect is a new and easy way to get all of your IEA questions answered in one spot. You can do it by phone, by email or by live chat with someone via the IEA website. 

  • Have you ever wondered how you can access discounts and deals?
  • Or how your dues dollars are spent?
  • Are you trying to find out more information about the new evaluation system or professional development resources?
  • Need to change your membership information?

IEA Connect is here to help. Now, you can reach an IEA Connect specialist 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday.

 

If we don't know the answer, we'll find one for you! Connect with IEA today!
 

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