Full Text of HR0003 095th General Assembly
HR0003 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, Article XIII, Section 5 of the Illinois | 3 |
| Constitution of 1970 requires the State to provide pension | 4 |
| benefits to members of State-sponsored retirement systems; and
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| WHEREAS, The State of Illinois supports five retirement | 6 |
| plans on behalf of State employees, university employees, | 7 |
| teachers, judges, and members of the Illinois General Assembly; | 8 |
| and | 9 |
| WHEREAS, It is the State's responsibility to provide | 10 |
| adequate funding to support State pension liabilities so that | 11 |
| future generations are not held responsible for current | 12 |
| expenses; and | 13 |
| WHEREAS, Deferrals of the State's obligations to its | 14 |
| annuitants contributed to an unfunded pension liability in | 15 |
| State-sponsored systems of $19 billion in 1995 to $43 billion | 16 |
| in 2003, resulting in a funded ratio of 48% in 2003, the worst | 17 |
| funded ratio of any of the fifty States and significantly | 18 |
| under-funded in comparison to the national average of 91.1% | 19 |
| among 101 public retirement systems according to the 2003 | 20 |
| Public Fund Survey conducted by the National Association of | 21 |
| State Retirement Administrators; and |
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LRB095 12652 AMC 37943 r |
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| WHEREAS, Because of this crisis, unless changes are made, | 2 |
| commitments to State employees will become a significant burden | 3 |
| on future generations; and
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| WHEREAS, Annuitants of the State's benefit systems rely on | 5 |
| the security provided by pension benefits to meet their daily | 6 |
| necessities, including food, housing, and healthcare; and | 7 |
| fairness requires that Illinois keep its obligations and | 8 |
| commitments to those who have earned it and will work for it in | 9 |
| the future; and
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| WHEREAS, Over the next three years, in order to meet the | 11 |
| statutory funding formula, the State will be required to | 12 |
| increase annual contributions to the pension systems and debt | 13 |
| service on outstanding pension obligation bonds, reducing | 14 |
| available State resources to fund growth in other core services | 15 |
| provided by the State, such as education and health care, to | 16 |
| less than $200 million (or less than 1% growth) of natural | 17 |
| revenue growth per year; and
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| WHEREAS, Further deferrals of the State's pension | 19 |
| liabilities will force future generations to pay billions in | 20 |
| additional interest on the unfunded liabilities of the State | 21 |
| between fiscal years 2008 and 2045; and
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| WHEREAS, Good government involves making hard choices; |
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| citizens and businesses in Illinois must make such choices; | 2 |
| their government must meet the same standard; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 4 |
| NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 5 |
| the State's pension funding system is in a state of crisis, and | 6 |
| that the State will continue to unnecessarily pay billions in | 7 |
| interest costs alone if the unfunded pension liability does not | 8 |
| receive an immediate and significant infusion of funding, the | 9 |
| General Assembly is in agreement that a solution to this crisis | 10 |
| must be adopted prior to adjournment of 2007 Spring Session of | 11 |
| the Ninety-Fifth General Assembly; this action is necessary to | 12 |
| adequately secure existing pension obligations, reduce | 13 |
| long-term interest costs on current obligations, more | 14 |
| effectively manage State funding requirements, and ensure that | 15 |
| future new revenues will not be consumed solely by escalating | 16 |
| pension contributions; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That the General Assembly shall enact any such | 18 |
| additional protections necessary to ensure that no further | 19 |
| State pension liabilities may be deferred to future generations | 20 |
| of Illinois citizens.
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