Sunday, February 18, 2018

“Your Flip-Flop Here Has Disappointed Many”

Chicago, IL – After flip-flopping on his unconstitutional pension bill, Dan Biss continues to stumble on why he wanted to cut pension benefits for 467,000 teachers, university workers, and state employees.

Friday on Fox 32, Biss was repeatedly pressed on the unconstitutional bill and confronted with the reality that his “flip-flop here has disappointed many.”

WATCH:

“No amount of flip-flopping can reverse the fact that Dan Biss wrote the bill to cut pensions for almost half a million Illinoisans,” said Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh. “Biss’ brazen support for pension theft won’t be forgotten by hardworking families across the state.”

TRANSCRIPT

Flannery: Let’s talk about one of the things he’s hitting you on, which frankly disappointed me, I will say. But first let me just point out that the Cook County Treasurer reports the Blue Island Park District pension fund is funded at 3.77%, the Broadview Public Library District, 13%, Tinley Park Kirby School District, 11.3%. As governor, what would you do when they go bust as they are certainly going to go bust?

Biss: Well we need solutions, right, we need to fund the pension systems properly. In the cases where municipalities need some help, the state government needs to step in with clear…

Flannery: You used to talk about shared sacrifice, but now you’ve thrown in with the public employee unions.

Biss: I wouldn’t say that, I would say that I’ve tried to understand what’s fair and what’s legal.

Flannery: But you’ve repudiated the fixes that you’ve offered before.

Biss: Listen, the Supreme Court overturned that bill and I think they were right to do it. And the question is now how are we going to find constitutional, fair solutions. And I will say that I’ve acknowledged the approach that I was trying before was not the right way to go…

Flannery: But your flip flop here has disappointed many.

Biss: I wouldn’t call it a flip flop. I would call it a learning experience. The Supreme Court has been clear. The Supreme Court has weighed in.

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