Gov. Pat Quinn of Illinois has canceled his call to increase pension costs for Illinois teachers, university staff members, and state employees.
The governor, a Democrat, had proposed raising workers’ pension contributions by 2 percent in an effort to cut government spending. He paired the increase with a plan to create a two-tiered retirement system that offered fewer benefits to new employees.
Mr. Quinn said he gave up on the unpopular idea of higher pension contributions to help his push for a two-tiered retirement system, which will be a hard sell even without the increased pension costs. Under his proposal, teachers would have contributed 11.4 percent of their paychecks to retirement, up from 9.4 percent.
The proposals were part of the governor’s plan to close a budget deficit expected to top $11.6 billion in the upcoming fiscal year. The plan also includes raising income taxes and trimming spending in some areas.
