A Springfield judge has dealt the state pension reform law a potentially deadly blow, ruling that the law violates the state constitution by reducing benefits for existing state retirees. Friday's ruling by Sangamon County Judge John Belz sets the stage for an appeal by the Quinn administration to Illinois Supreme Court. The law attempts to reduce the one-hundred-five-billion-dollar state pension liability by raising the retirement age, reducing cost-of-living adjustments and cutting the amount of salary on which a pension can be based. The five unions who challenged the pension reform law point out that the supreme court has already ruled against a state law that would have required pensioners to begin to pay for their health care.
