CHICAGO - The Illinois Supreme Court denied requests by Chicago, other issuers, several civic groups, and a municipal lawyers group to file briefs supporting Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan's defense of state pension reforms.
Chicago and the others, including the International Municipal Lawyers Association, had filed briefs with the court, although formal leave to file the arguments in an amicus brief must be granted.
Due to the "extensive" amicus briefs, the group of unions, state employees and retirees challenging the 2013 legislative overhaul of four of the five state's pension funds had also asked the court for an extension of their deadline next month to file its key arguments.
The state laid out its arguments earlier this month and oral arguments are set for the court's March term under an expedited review granted by the high court.
The court in an order
In its filing, Chicago warned that its fiscal well-being hangs in the balance as court considers whether the state's sovereign police powers trump constitutional protections against cutting pensions. The city argues that the outcome of the state's case potentially threatens its current and future efforts to stabilize its four pension funds, which have $20 billion of unfunded liabilities.
The court is considering the state's appeal of a November ruling by Sangamon County Circuit Court Judge John Belz, who found the benefit cuts that impacted four of the state's five pension funds to be unconstitutional and voided the legislation in its entirety.
The state doesn't dispute the constitutional language that grants membership in a public pension system as "an enforceable contractual relationship, the benefits of which shall not be diminished or impaired." The state's lawyers counter that those rights are not absolute in consideration above all else including the state's police powers to alter a contract.
