General Assembly to Discuss Pension Woes, Derrick Smith Expulsion

Wondering what will be talked about in Friday's special session? Pension reform is certainly on the docket, but the extent of discussion and whether any formal voting will take place remains unclear.

Members of Illinois’ General Assembly seem to agree on one aspect of what’s expected at Friday’s special session in Springfield called by Gov. Pat Quinn. Rep. Derrick Smith (D-Chicago) will face expulsion by the Illinois House in a vote, after he was accused of taking a $7,000 bribe from a campaign worker in a sting operation. But throngs of state employees, including teachers, are now down in Springfield protesting different aspects of pension reform, not Smith’s likely removal from office. Quinn called a special session of the general assembly for Friday under claims to fix the pension problems facing the state, now totaling about $83 billion in unfunded liabilities among the various state employees. Local legislators, as the date …

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