The We are One Coalition has filed a lawsuit over the pension reform bill that Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed into law on December 5th, 2013.
The lawsuit has been expected now for more than a month. That's because the Cost of Living Adjustments, or COLAs, will increase at a slower rate for teachers. Current retirees will not see reductions in their pension checks.
The lawsuit comes a day before Governor Quinn makes his State of the State Address. Governor Quinn will likely talk about the pension reform bill and raising the state's minimum wage to more than $10 an hour. President Obama discussed raising the federal minimum wage for contract workers in his State of the Union Address on Tuesday, January 28th, 2014.
The unemployment rate in Illinois stands at 8.6 %. It is the third highest unemployment rate for states in the country. Governor Quinn makes his address at noon Wednesday in Springfield.