South Central Reporter

Blaine Wilhour, the Republican candidate for the 107th House District, believes that the only way out of the state's pension crisis requires discipline and follow-through from the Illinois government.

"First, any solution to the pension crisis needs to be fair to both taxpayers and pensioners," Wilhour told South Central Reporter. "Second, we must honor the commitments to current retirees. Third, we must respect the taxpayers and make sure that benefits for future retirees are affordable. Fourth we must implement a defined contribution plan as opposed to a defined benefit for future retirees and it must be a pay-as-you-go plan. We cannot strap future generations of Illinois residents with skyrocketing pension payment obligations."

Wilhour, who is running against Democrat David Seiler,  also believes that an important adjustment that must be made is to stop giving retirees compounding Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLAs).

David Seiler

"The compounded COLAs are dramatically increasing pension costs because the COLA is being figured on the increase from year to year – not on the original pension amount," Wilhour said. "As a result, taxpayers in many cases are paying benefits that far exceeded what people actually made as full-time employees. We need to reign [sic] these costs in and one way to do it is by eliminating compounded COLAs."

Currently, the pension liability is approximately $250 billion and the pension system continues to play a part in the Illinois budget. 

"If we move to a defined benefit pension system such as a 401(k) style system instead of the current defined benefit plans, there will be the kind of budget flexibility we need to lower taxes," Wilhour said.  "If we are able to drive these costs down, then it will relieve some of the pressures on the budget and make it easier for the legislature to lower taxes. Addressing the pension problem is an important step in lowering taxes in Illinois."

Finally, Wilhour believes that the most compelling argument in regards to pension reform is to realize that without reform, Illinois taxpayers will continue to be abused and over-taxed. 

"Solving the pension problem will enable the legislature to better fund spending priorities such as education and Medicaid, but most importantly it is the right thing to do for taxpayers in Illinois," Wilhour said.