Piccioli v. Board of Trustees of the Teachers’ Retirement System

2007 amendment to the Illinois Pension Code allowed an officer or employee of a statewide teachers' union was was a certified teacher as of effective date of amendment to establish service credit in TRS (Teachers' Retirement System) for his or her union work prior to becoming certified as a teacher.  In 2012, legislation repealed the 2007 amendment. Defendants have standing to challenge the constitutionality of the 2007 amendment. The cutoff date in the 2007 amendment was rationally related to a legitimate government interest in offering pension benefits to current employees while containing costs by excluding future employees from those benefits. The 2007 amendment was not special legislation. The 2012 Act that repealed the 2007 amendment violates the pension protection clause in the Illinois Constitution. (KARMEIER, KILBRIDE, and NEVILLE, concurring; THEIS, THOMAS, and GARMAN, dissenting.)