CHICAGO - Governor Pat Quinn today issued a line-item veto of House Bill 214 to suspend pay for Illinois state legislators. Since taking office, the governor has been pushing for comprehensive pension reform to resolve the state's worst-in-the-nation pension crisis. Today's action follows years of legislative inertia on pension reform, while the state's unfunded pension debt grows by millions of dollars a day.

"In this budget, there should be no paychecks for legislators until they get the job done on pension reform," Governor Quinn said. "Pension reform is the most critical job for all of us in public office. I cannot in good conscience approve legislation that provides paychecks to legislators who are not doing their job for the taxpayers."

In addition, Governor Quinn will not accept his salary until the General Assembly sends him a comprehensive pension reform solution.

Illinois' pension crisis was created over 70 years of fiscal mismanagement by previous governors and legislatures. Since taking office, Governor Quinn has worked to restore fiscal stability to the state, making the full pension payment each year and reducing the state's discretionary spending to historic lows. Governor Quinn's efforts to enact pension reform include :

·      In May 2009, Governor Quinn established the Pension Modernization Task Force, which laid the foundation for pension reform efforts.

·      In 2010, despite intense opposition, he fought for and signed into law sweeping pension reform for new hires that are saving billions of dollars.

·      In January 2012, the governor convened a legislative pension reform working group to develop a solution.

·      Three months later, he proposed a comprehensive pension reform plan that erased the unfunded liability and worked to pass this legislation during the legislative session.

·      To avoid credit downgrades, Governor Quinn set several deadlines over the past two years for legislators to enact pension reform. Each time the deadline was blown, taxpayers were on the hook for millions of more dollars in pension debt and numerous downgrades to the state's credit rating. Recently, Illinois' credit rating was downgraded twice in one week to its lowest point in history, which days ago cost taxpayers an additional $130 million over the life of the bonds, in order to maintain critical infrastructure.

·      The governor has called special sessions to address pension reform.

·      He has released several studies on the dire impact of pension inaction on education, with Illinois currently on track to spend more on pensions than education by 2016.

·      The governor has met at length, numerous times with legislative leaders and lawmakers, and repeatedly asked them to vote for comprehensive pension reform.

·      Governor Quinn launched an online campaign to raise awareness about the pension squeeze and urgent need for action.

·      The governor has rejected piecemeal and insufficient pension bills that did not eliminate the pension debt.

·      During his 2013 State of the State and Budget addresses, the governor again laid out standards for pension reform and throughout the session he pushed for Senate Bill 1, which would have eliminated the unfunded liability.

·      In June 2013, the governor proposed a legislative conference committee as a vehicle to break gridlock between the two chambers. He asked the legislative conference committee to act on a compromise that erases the unfunded liability and provides 100 percent funding for the systems by July 9.

Members of the Illinois General Assembly make $67,836 annually, along with additional stipends for leadership positions, both of which were vetoed out today.

"This is an emergency, the taxpayers of Illinois are waiting and there is no excuse for further legislative delay," Governor Quinn added. "The taxpayers cannot afford an endless cycle of delays, excuses and more delays."

New Laws Will Protect Gang Crime Witnesses and Require School Officials to Report Illegal Gang Activity

CHICAGO - Governor Pat Quinn today signed new laws that will help fight gang crimes and protect those who aid law enforcement in these efforts. Today's actions are part of Governor Quinn's agenda to ensure the safety of all people in every community across Illinois.

"All Illinois residents have the right to be safe in their homes, schools and on our streets," Governor Quinn said. "These new laws give us more tools to fight gang violence, crack down on the criminals and protect those who are doing the right thing for public safety."

House Bill 1139, sponsored by State Rep. Emanuel Chris Welch (D-Westchester) and State Sen. Patricia Van Pelt (D-Chicago), creates the Gang Crime Witness Protection Act. The Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority will establish a Gang Crime Witness Protection Program to assist those who are actively aiding in the prosecution of gang crimes. The program will reimburse counties for assistance they provide victims and witnesses, including temporary living costs and moving expenses. The new law takes effect immediately.

"We have to show people that the law is stronger than street gangs," Welch said. "These bills will help make our schools safer by allowing for greater communication between our principals and law enforcement, and protect those who have the courage to stand up to gang violence."

"This legislation will empower people who might be afraid to testify against members of organized crime regimes," Van Pelt said. "If witnesses are willing to tell the authorities everything they know about criminal activity, they can help stop the violence that is rampant in our communities."

House Bill 2768, also sponsored by State Rep. Welch along with State Sen. Tom Cullerton (D-Villa Park), requires school principals and assistant principals to report any illegal weapons use or possession, or any illegal gang activity, to the proper law enforcement officials. The bill also requires courts and law enforcement officials to notify principals when one of their students is detained for illegal gang activity. The new law takes effect Jan. 1.

As part of his public safety agenda, last week Governor Quinn issued an amendatory veto of House Bill 183, legislation that would allow and regulate the carrying of concealed handguns in public places. The changes address several serious safety problems with the legislation and will make communities safer across the state.

The governor's changes to House Bill 183 limit concealed carry guns to one per person and one ammunition magazine holding no more than 10 cartridges. The changes would also continue to allow local governments to enact assault weapons bans in their communities; keep guns out of establishments serving alcohol, including most family restaurants; and make the presumption that weapons cannot be carried onto private property or in the workplace unless permission to do so is granted. The Governor's changes establish a better law that puts public safety first. Full details of the governor's amendatory veto as well as how to contact your legislator are available at www.KeepIllinoisSafe.org.

The Illinois General Assembly is scheduled to return to Springfield on July 9 to act on Governor Quinn's amendatory veto. They can vote to accept the veto, which requires a three-fifths majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, or they could vote to override the veto, which requires a three-fifths majority in both chambers. If both chambers do nothing, House Bill 183 will not be enacted and Illinois' current concealed carry law will be struck down by the courts.

CHICAGO - Governor Pat Quinn today took action on the following bills:

Bill No.: HB 192

An Act Concerning: Education

Allows Lake County Township High School District 113 to issue bonds to become due within 25 years.

Action: Signed

Effective Date: Immediate

Bill No.: HB 479

An Act Concerning: Local Government

Allows the Illinois Medical District Commission, rather than the Auditor General, to provide its annual audits to the General Assembly.

Action: Signed

Effective Date: Immediate

Bill No.: HB 513

An Act Concerning: Education

Requires Governor's State University to provide the names of individuals enrolled in alternative teaching certification programs and extends the deadline for those individuals to complete the programs.

Action: Signed

Effective Date: Immediate

Bill No.: HB 982

An Act Concerning: Insurance

Allows the charging of assets for another business a company conducts if the separate account is subject to guarantees, so long as the contract does not specify that the assets are insulated.

Action: Signed

Effective Date: Immediate

Bill No.: HB 3390

An Act Concerning: Civil Law

Implements operational efficiencies and cost-cutting measures for the administration of the Workers' Compensation Commission.

Action: Signed

Effective Date: Immediate

Bill No.: SB 626

An Act Concerning: Regulation

Ensures that Early Intervention Services is in compliance with new federal regulation.

Action: Signed

Effective Date: Immediate

Bill No.: SB 1366

An Act Concerning: Public Employee Benefits

Extends the Early Retirement Without Discount Option under the Teachers' Retirement System for three years, provided certain conditions are met.

Action: Signed

Effective Date: Immediate

Bill No.: SB 1584

An Act Concerning: Public Employee Benefits

Requires the boards of local pension systems within the City of Chicago to continue to subsidize retiree health care costs for the City of Chicago.

Action: Signed

Effective Date: Immediate

Bill No.: SB 1621

An Act Concerning: State Government

Repeals or makes permissive several unfunded or unduly burdensome mandates for State agencies.

Action: Signed

Effective Date: Immediate

Bill No.: SB 1664

An Act Concerning: Regulation

Makes technical changes to and extends the sunset dates of the Public Utilities Act, Cable and Video Competition Law of 2007, and the Wireless Emergency Telephone System Act.

Action: Signed

Effective Date: Immediate

Bill No.: SB 1688

An Act Concerning: Education

Eliminates the community college districts' non-residential gross square footage calculation requirement for grant appropriations.

Action: Signed

Effective Date: Immediate

"Voting is a fundamental right in our democracy, and the Voting Rights Act has been a critical and effective means to guarantee that right.

"I am disappointed by the Supreme Court decision announced today, which halts nearly 50 years of civil rights progress.

"I join President Obama in urging Congress to pass new legislation that will ensure every American has equal access to the polls. I will contact the members of Illinois' Congressional delegation and urge them to make this a priority."

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