Constitutional Convention for Illinois

Excerpt:
"Well, two things:
First, all will not be lost. Article I, Section X, of the U.S. Constitution—which trumps Illinois' governing document—forbids states from passing laws "impairing the obligation of contracts."
Existing government pension plans are contracts. So if a new constitution eliminated the pension guarantees, that elimination would not be retroactive.
Even McCauley conceded Wednesday when we spoke that taking away government pension benefits that public employees already have earned would require "overturning decades of rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court."
Read entire article here:
http://blogs.chicagotribune.com/news_columnists_ezorn/2008/10/new-consti...