A bill aimed at fixing Illinois’ hundred billion dollar pension crisis is before Gov. Pat Quinn.

A spokeswoman for Senate President John Cullerton said Wednesday that the bill had been sent to Quinn.

The move came a day after the Illinois General Assembly approved the bill that is estimated to save the state $160 billion over the next 30 years.

The plan reduces benefits for current and retired public employees. Among other things, it also raises the retirement age on a sliding scale for some employees.

Quinn has said he will sign the bill “promptly.”

Once signed, the law would take effect in June. However, unions that have been saying the bill is unfair and unconstitutional have

Former Illinois Education Association Representative, Jim Clark, said the politics of this action are entirely backwards.

“It’s heartbreaking that people who are drawing a pension and have worked their whole careers to get the benefit, or people who are enjoying the benefit, are going to have their expectation of retirement security affected by this,” he said.

Current Representative, Bret Seferian, said this reform is not a victory for anybody.

“It’s a really bad day for people who work for this state,” he said. “It’s just sad.”

Seferian said he believes the IEA is likely toseeklegalaction,sinceastatepensionisa constitutional guarantee.

“Even if the IEA doesn’t take legal action, other people will sue,” he said.

Clark said he has no doubt this bill will be contested in court.

“The constitution says the pension benefits of employees are contractual rights and can’t be diminished,” he said. “So the effect of the reform act is to diminish a post retirement benefit. It wasn’t the failure of the employees who funded it. It was the failure of the legislature to properly put the money in.”

Seferian said the pension bill will negatively effect state education institutions, including SIU. “The classic arguement for why you work for a public institution as opposed to a private one, is that the pay is worse but the benefits are better,” he said. “And if the benefits get substantialy worse, which they just did, then some people mightreconsiderthatcalculation;orjustgoto

another state where they’re not doing this.”

Parts of this story were contributed by the Associated Press.