With the state’s pension woes only getting worse, Jason Kasiar, the Republican candidate for the state House seat in District 118, said he believes the state is reaping the consequences of a dishonest government.
“The legislature has overspent, underfunded and has not held their word on what they were going to do with this pension plan,” Kasiar told Southwest Illinois News. “That falls on the legislature.”
Kasiar said enacting term limits would inspire legislators to do more than just try to keep a “cushy job for years and years.” He also said he opposes pensions for state lawmakers who, he said, work only a small fraction of the year.
“I have a career,” Kasiar, who owns a pharmacy in his hometown of Eldorado, said. “I won’t take a state pension if I’m elected. It’s disrespectful and wrong to do so.”
Kasiar said state lawmakers must honor their word, and those that haven’t should be voted out. He pointed to his opponent, incumbent state Rep. Brandon Phelps (D-Harrisburg), saying he lives “high on the hog” while members of the unions who fund his campaigns bear the weight of an uncertain retirement. Kasiar believes Phelps and others are re-elected on false promises that amount to threats against the futures of hard-working southern Illinoisans.
“As far as I can see it, the Democrats say they’re pro-union, but they turned their back on the unions,” Kasiar said.
A recent Illinois Teachers’ Retirement System board decision to lower its expectations of the rate of return on its investments will saddle the state with an additional $400 million to $500 million contribution each year. Annual pension costs make up more than a quarter of the state’s general fund budget, according to data analysis by the Illinois Policy Institute. Twenty years ago, it was about 3 percent of the general fund budget. Between 2011 and 2015, state pension debt increased from $83 billion to $111 billion.
Kasiar said he agrees with other Republicans who have called for changing the pension system for new hires to reduce the burden on the state. It would also save those workers from being subject to state lawmakers’ threats, Kasiar said. If elected, he said he’d also look to cut spending on unnecessary projects that legislators support so they’ll be re-elected.
Kasiar said being a business owner requires him to consider the promises he’s given his employees — promises of a steady job, benefits and retirement. It’s common that adjustments have to be made when the economy suffers, but he works every day to keep his promises.
“The way I am, if I give you my word, I’m going to stand by it,” Kasiar said. “If it’s good for Southern Illinois, which includes unions, I’m going to do what’s right.”
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