052413br0081rSpringfield, IL – State Senator Linda Holmes (D-Aurora) released the following statement on being named to a conference committee on pension reform.

“I look forward to serving on this committee,” Holmes said.  “I am disappointed House members did not have the opportunity to vote on the agreed bill by Senate President John Cullerton and myself, in addition to representatives of those impacted. I will continue to stand up for people who have spent their lives serving the people of Illinois.  I want to make sure that as we have these negotiations, we are conscious of the rights of working men and women as well as the economic security of retirees. This issue is about the State’s finances, but it is also about people lives and we can’t lose sight of that. I am hoping this Conference Committee can have Illinois move forward on pension stabilization with a solution that is constitutional and fair.”