Before the bill was passed by the legislature, Quinn warned that he would not sign the legislation due to its orginal call for a $250 million property tax increase over a five-year period. The property tax increase was eventually scrapped from the bill and then passed by the legislature in early April.

 

Quinn reportedly felt more comfortable signing off on the bill today after putting his John Hancock on another bill last week that lets the city raise 911 phone call fees from $1.40 to $3.90. If the Chicago City Council passes that increase in its entirety, it would mean an additional $50 million a year. The increased revenue would then alleviate the need for a property tax increase for the time being — at least until the midterm and aldermanic

elections are over. 

 

UPDATE 1 (4:48 p.m.): The Chicago Teachers Union released a statement in response to the bill's signing:

The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) is greatly disappointed at the signing today by Gov. Pat Quinn of Senate Bill 1922, a proposal by the mayor of Chicago that will cut the retirement savings of thousands of city workers and school employees, and a slap in the face to the citizens who put the governor in office. The Union maintains that this short-sighted proposal does not, in any way, solve Chicago's pension problem, and is just another attack on communities and citizens who continue to be victims of draconian policies out of Springfield and the fifth floor of City Hall.

The worker retiring today under this 'Emanuel’s Law,' earning an average of $23,000 a year will lose nearly $10,000 in earning power within twenty years. In 2034, this retiree’s pension 20 years from now will only be worth $15,982 per year in today’s dollars – a pension in 2034 that is worth $7,018 less than the retiree’s pension today. She will lose more than 18 percent of her total pension over 20 years.

This is nothing more than continued disinvestment in our city, neglect of public employees and the straddling of taxpayers who must bear the brunt of this so-called pension crisis instead of those who crippled our economic system in the first place. CTU members do not receive social security benefits and therefore must absorb the expense of all future health care costs.

'We have to call this what it is—which is theft—because these people are stealing from dedicated city workers like the paraprofessionals in our schools,' said CTU President Karen Lewis. 'Instead of any accountability for those who actually caused this problem, Emanuel’s Law brutally attacks the people who are most vulnerable, our seniors and municipal employees who remain on the frontlines in our city.'

The CTU has called for various revenue proposals to not only eliminate the pension debt but also provide critical resources for neighborhood schools, including a LaSalle Street Tax of $1 per financial transactions such as stocks, bonds, currency, futures and credit default swaps. In addition, the Union supports a 1 percent commuter tax which could draw $350 million every year; and, changes to the city’s controversial TIF program.

Under “Emanuel’s Law, school clerks, teachers’ aides and support services staff will join nurses, cafeteria workers and librarians in losing a third of their retirement life savings. 'It is time public employees stop shouldering the burden of a shortfall created by politicians, corporations and the elites in Illinois who refuse to pay their fair share of taxes,” Lewis said. “This was an opportunity for Pat Quinn to stand up for everyday citizens instead of standing in the gap for the mayor and his well-funded pension reform allies.'

The CTU represents 4,000 active members and thousands of retired members in the Municipal Employees' Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago (MEABF), and was not part of any negotiation with the City of Chicago in the creation of SB1922. The Union will continue to vigorously fight this attempt at pension heist as part of the We Are One Chicago coalition and will support litigation to challenge the new law.

UPDATE 2 (6:54 p.m.): State Sen. Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago) applauded Quinn for signing the bill in a statement released Monday evening:

Signing this legislation was a difficult but responsible action for the governor to take, and I applaud his courage in this sensitive matter. The fiscal health of our state’s anchor city and its workers was at stake, and the General Assembly put before the governor a negotiated and sustainable solution that will give two major retirement systems a much-needed course correction. It was critically important in this instance for the governor to act as a responsible chief executive, and he did so today. With every pension reform measure carefully constructed on a foundation of sound financial principles and responsibility both to the taxpayers and to the workers who keep our state and cities running, we move closer to a situation of fiscal stability that benefits everyone.