UIC Chapter of SUAA
July 2005 Newsletter - page 1
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UIC Chapter of SUAAJuly 2005 Newsletter - page 1 |
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Colleagues:
In this, my first report to you as President of SUAA/UIC,
I wish I had happier news. Unfortunately, we now know that the Illinois
General Assembly has balanced the State's fiscal year 2006 budget by "borrowing"
over $2.2 billion from the State's legally required contributions to public
employee pension funds. To add insult to injury, elected officials have been
quoted as saying that pensioners are greedy and don't deserve the "generous"
pensions they receive from the State. They neglect to point out that the pensions
we receive are mostly money that we contributed in good faith, whereas the legally
mandated State contributions have been short-changed for as far back as any
one of us can remember. The result of this short-changing of pension funds is
that Illinois public pensions currently have a ratio of assets to liabilities
of about 65%, the lowest such level in the United States.
Positioning for Political Power…or for Elections?
The 2005 SUAA Annual Meeting took place in Springfield on June 8 and 9. It is a sign of the times that the theme was "Positioning for Political Power." At the meeting, we heard from four state legislators - two senators, one from each party, and two representatives, likewise one from each party. What was remarkable, when they weren't obfuscating what actually happened, was the near unanimity in what they said:
· State contributions to pension funds were an easy target to fill gaps
in the budget that occurred because of structural imbalances in state budgeting;
· there was an unwillingness to confront these structural imbalances;
· they were afraid to consider raising revenues;
· the main force driving the agenda was positioning for next year's elections.
With the exception of Julie Hamos and Kevin Joyce, every Democrat voted in favor of the budget. Every Republican voted against. We hope that constituents of those Assembly members who supported us let them know we appreciate them.
"A Prayer rather than a Prediction"
We also heard from Jim Hacking, the SURS Executive Director, who reported on the impact of the new state budget on SURS pensions. He noted that the legislation reduces the state contribution to SURS from the legally required ~$365 million to ~$167 million for FY2006, and from ~$432 million to ~$252 million for 2007. He noted that the law requires the State to repay this money to SURS with interest, so the damage will be mitigated; he also noted that his statement that the repayment would actually occur and no further raids would take place was "a prayer rather than a prediction."
A few days after the meeting, Hacking announced that he is resigning as SURS Executive Director to become Executive Director of the Arizona Public Safety Retirement System. I invite your attention to the story immediately following in this issue of the newsletter.
How to Build
SUAA is confronting its lack of political muscle in several ways. First, SUAA has hired Paula Purdue, the former chief lobbyist for the Illinois Education Association, to work on behalf of SUAA. Paula will coordinate the development of Political Information Committees (PICs) from within SUAA chapters to increase the visibility of SUAA in Springfield. PIC training sessions will begin shortly.
Second, SUAA is undertaking a major drive to recruit new members; the current membership of ~12,700 is not large enough to have significant clout with the legislature. Third, SUAA is exploring ways to make common cause with other organizations with similar interests, e.g. the unions, to increase our voice.
The UIC chapter is playing its part in these efforts. We have volunteered to be a PIC training site, and will send representatives to PIC training sessions elsewhere. We are undertaking a major recruitment effort for new members among both current university personnel and retirees. We are exploring ways to work with other campus organizations that share our views on the necessity to protect future retirement benefits.
How You Can Help
It is painful to confront our current lack of political muscle, but at least we recognize the problem and are beginning to deal with it. There are several ways you can help:
· SUAA/UIC is currently the fourth largest chapter in SUAA, with 1224
members; we need to be larger. If you know of SURS members, either current or
retired university personnel, who are not members of SUAA, suggest that they
join us. Some current faculty members may not be aware that they do not have
to wait until their retirement to join us. There is strength in numbers.
· Get to know your state senator and representative. You want to remind
them that you have interests they need to address, and that you vote.
· Since lobbying and other political activity would jeopardize SUAA's
tax-exempt status, the PIC program will be funded from private contributions.
Please consider making such a contribution when you are asked for it.
I look forward to working with you on behalf of SUAA and its members. I hope that my next report will have better news.
Irv Miller
President, SUAA/UIC
E-mail: ifmiller@sbcglobal.net
SUAA/UIC website: http://www.uic.edu/orgs/suaa
