State Sen. James Meeks is quickly becoming the most conservative candidate in Chicago's mayoral race.
The
South Side Democrat launched his campaign in mid-November with the
assistance of Andy McKenna, the former chairman of the Illinois
Republican Party, and the chief lobbyist for the culturally-conservative Catholic Conference of Illinois. Although he did so graciously, Meeks voted against the civil unions bill in Springfield Wednesday, the only black lawmaker
in either chamber to do so, which puts him at odds with the Black Caucus. Today, Meeks sent out a press release
claiming he's the only mayoral hopeful who has the "conviction and the
leadership to solve the [city] pension fund crisis." From the statement:
"All
the stakeholders share the same goal, and we will find a solution
together. The greatest risk is doing nothing or too little," said Meeks.
"I believe that we must: increase employee contributions toward their
pensions, move to a two-tiered system that reduces benefit accruals for
new employees, and increase the average retirement age. Contributing
to the employees pensions funds must also be a higher priority if we
are going to head off the failure of the pension funds."
It's no secret that poor budgeting practices and the financial meltdown have severely increased
Chicago's unfunded pension liability. Bold action will be needed by
city officials in the coming years to get the funds back on firm
financial ground. Yet Meeks' initial recommendation -- to reduce
benefits and increase the retirement age for new workers -- is
frustrating to read. Like state employees,
it's not as if city workers make out like bandits once they retire.
"Most don't participate in the federal Social Security program, and the
vast majority receives modest benefits averaging about $40,000 a
year," the Tribune found last month. That's a point that should not be ignored when future negotiations ramp up.
