Kane County Reporter

As lawmakers in Springfield consider Senate Bill 3211, which would amend the Police Officers’ Pension Investment Fund Article of the Illinois Pension Code, one Republican is standing against the plan. 

According to the General Assembly website, the proposal would provide a transition period for pension funds that would start no later than June 30, 2023.  It was assigned to the Pensions Committee, and during a hearing of that panel, Sen. Don DeWitte (R-St. Charles) expressed his opposition to the bill, noting that he didn’t believe police pension funds were being impacted by the process. 

“I think like most lore that gets started in Springfield a lot of it is based on hearsay and fear-mongering rather than dealing with these issues from a reality standpoint,” he said during a Pensions Committee hearing. 

Bukola Bello, a witness before the panel responding to a question from DeWitte, noted that there were several police unions that didn’t support the legislation and who weren’t invited to participate in discussons, and she said that has resulted in myriad concerns and even some legal challenges to a proposal that would amend an existing law. 

“One of the parties of that litigation was the city of Elgin police pension fund, as you are probably aware,” DeWitte responded during the session, adding that he tried to allay their fears. “While they felt they may have been justified, I just was not able to convince them that their funds were safe.”

DeWitte also noted that he tried to let them know that their money would not be used to subsidize other pension funds and that may have been the cause of them dragging their feet to consolidate.

“I’m sorry that it's taking more time for the police side to get it taken care of,” he concluded during the hearing. “Frankly, I think it was a very level playing field for both sides regardless of the litigation. I mean … if we stopped legislation in Springfield every time somebody threatened a lawsuit, we’d never get anything done.”

DeWitte then voiced his opposition and asked to be recorded as a no vote on the legislation. 

According to the General Assembly website, the legislation was introduced on Jan. 14 and is sponsored by Sen. Robert Martwick (D-Chicago). 

The Pensions Committee voted on the bill Feb. 2, with five members voting yes, three dissenting, and one member not voting, according to the website. The legislation will now go to the full Senate for discussion, the website noted.