News » Political

Lawmakers prepare for upcoming special session

By WEEK Producer
July 31, 2012 Updated Jul 31, 2012 at 7:44 PM CDT

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- There's still a lot of work to be done before the upcoming Illinois General Assembly Special Session.

On Monday, Governor Pat Quinn called on lawmakers to meet to discuss pension reform.

With an unfunded liability of $83 billion dollars, pensions are one of the biggest contributors to the state's deficit.

Senator Dave Koehler says how effective the session will be depends on what's prepared beforehand.

"I hope there are actually proposals given to us before we get there," said Koehler, (D) 46th District. "The changes have to be made, but they have to be fair. That's the criteria that I hold. There's a lot of things we can do that would be very disastrous for either the taxpayers or the pension folks themselves."

Lawmakers are scheduled to meet in special session on Friday, August 17.

To submit a comment on this article, your email address is required. We respect your privacy and your email will not be visible to others nor will it be added to any email lists.