Illinois voters who cast ballots during Tuesday’s U.S. election rejected a proposed amendment to the state’s constitution meant to curb growing public pension funding challenges.
Currently in Illinois, bills to increase pension benefits for public employees require a simple majority vote to pass in the state legislature. The amendment would have required a three-fifths vote to pass such changes. It would have also required three-fifths vote approvals in city councils, school boards and other public bodies in order to introduce any changes leading to increased public pension costs.
Illinois has the most underfunded public pension system in the U.S., according to a recent report from the Pew Research Center, with a funding ratio of just 45% in 2010. While the state approved pension benefit cuts in 2010 and raised the retirement age to 67 (from the current 60) for newly hired employees, an Associated Press article suggests that critics believe the amendment change is needed to rein in legislators who are too quick to approve new pension benefits increases.
For the proposed amendment to pass, it needed to be approved by three-fifths of those voting on the measure, or 50% of the total number of ballots cast by Illinois voters on Tuesday. The proposal received support from just 56% who voted on it and fell short of receiving approval from 50% of all ballots cast.
According to the Associated Press story, voter confusion over the ballot’s wording may have played a role in the measure being voted down. Some voters indicated that they didn’t understand whether voting “yes” on the ballot showed they were supporting public employees or the proposed amendment.