The Illinois Supreme Court on Friday unanimously ruled that the Illinois pension reform law passed in 2013 is unconstitutional, Pensions&Investments reported on Friday. The pension law — which reduced cost-of-living adjustments, capped pensionable salaries and raised retirement ages — violates the state's constitutional clause that pension benefits “shall not be diminished or impaired,” the Supreme Court affirmed on Friday. On Nov. 26, Attorney General Lisa Madigan appealed the Circuit Court's ruling to the state Supreme Court, maintaining pension benefits could be altered in light of Illinois' roughly $100 billion pension funding crisis. The Supreme Court rejected that argument, faulting the state for underfunding the plans. The pension funding crisis “is a crisis for which the General Assembly itself is largely responsible,” said Justice Lloyd Karmeier writing for the court.
