Supreme Court sets schedule for pension case

On Wednesday, Dec. 10, the Illinois Supreme Court agreed to a request made by the Attorney General to set an accelerated schedule for hearing the state’s appeal of an earlier ruling that declared pension-cutting legislation unconstitutional.

However, the court also chose a plan that will give lawyers from the We Are One Illinois union coalition, of which AFSCME is a leading member, adequate time to respond to the state’s brief and prepare arguments for a hearing.

Under the schedule put in place by the court, the state is required to file its brief by January 12, with the coalition’s response due by February 16. The state will then have until February 27 to file its response, which will set the stage for oral arguments in March.

The schedule set by the court was based on one of three plans put forward by the Attorney General’s office. Two of the plans would have imposed rushed schedules that coalition lawyers called “manifestly unfair.” While the coalition opposed any accelerated schedule, its lawyers argued that the third option offered by the state – the one the Supreme Court ultimately chose – would provide adequate time.

“We raised concerns about accelerated options the state proposed that we believe presented an unfair timetable. The Court selected the one option for an accelerated schedule that we agreed is fair,” Council 31 Executive Director Roberta Lynch said. “We will make our case that the constitutional pension clause is absolute and that the circuit court’s ruling should be upheld.”