On Election Day, Illinoisans will see a referendum on the ballot that would, if approved by voters, install a state constitutional amendment that would boost the number of legislative votes
needed to pass statewide pension increases for public employees.
If passed, Amendment 49
would require a three-fifths, or super majority, vote of approval by the General
Assembly to make any increases in public employee pensions. As it stands now, only a simple
majority, or one-half of the legislative vote, is needed to increase the pensions of state employees. The amendment would also apply to city and county employees as well as educators, meaning that local governments, school boards and similar legislative bodies would also be beholden to the super majority vote requirement.
The controversial amendment,
sponsored by House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago), swept through both the Illinois Senate and House by margins of 51-2 and 113-0, respectively.
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The Illinois state legislature does not hold summer sessions, but
this year longtime Speaker of the House Mike Madigan, a Chicago
Democrat, 
A dispute between Gov. Pat Quinn and Illinois Republicans on the pace
of implementing a Medicaid eligibility verification system raises the
larger issue of whether the state can actually cut a total of 
With the Chicago Teachers Union strike spilling into its second week,
Gov. Pat Quinn skipped across state lines today for a meeting of
the Midwest U.S.-Japan Association in Minneapolis. The meeting involved
Japanese business leaders “strengthening economic ties to Illinois,”
according to a press release.
