As you have no doubt heard, the pension reform law set for implementation on June 1 was put on hold by a Sangamon County Circuit Court judge. On May 14, 2014, Judge John W. Belz issued a preliminary injunction which prevents the pension law from being implemented until further order of the court.
The brief two-page order does not address the constitutional merits of the pension law or give any guidance to school districts or cooperatives on important Teachers’ Retirement System (“TRS”) issues, such as grandfathered contracts, retroactivity, COLA, or effective dates for 2014 retirements.
The injunction also has a small impact on members of the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (“IMRF”). The pension law would have placed new restrictions on future members of the IMRF with regard to their ability to use sick leave or vacation time toward pensionable salary and service credit; those restrictions also are stayed by the court’s order.
Please contact Heather Brickman, Barbara Erickson, Terry Hodges, Mike Loizzi, or Cindi DeCola with any questions about the effect of the court’s action, the pension law or any pending employment contracts.
