Kendall County Times

State Rep. Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield) is pushing a bill that would amend the General Provisions Article of the Illinois Pension Code to restrict certain individuals from being employed by a pension fund and certain other businesses for a designated period of time.

“I’m attempting to do a couple of small things,” Batinick told fellow lawmakers from the House Floor during a recent House Personnel & Pensions Committee hearing. “I’m working with the pension system and chairman on some small amendments. We want to stop the revolving door to stop someone from being on the pension board and immediately going to work for that board.”

House Bill 3004 seeks to ban any person that is a board member of a pension fund, investment board, or retirement system from being employed by any of those agencies for a period of five years after the individual ceases to be a board member.

“The idea is to get an agreed bill and then get an amendment and bring it back,” Batinick added. “This is to stop people from going from the board of a pension fund to being an employee of that pension fund.”

HB 3004 also strives to establish that no pension fund, investment board, or retirement system may pay membership dues to a membership organization or association that has any pecuniary interest with any entity that provides services to a pension fund, investment board, or retirement system.  The exception would be if the membership organization or association provides to the retirement system, pension fund, or investment board a list of those pecuniary interests, the total annual value of those pecuniary interests or payments, and the services that those pecuniary interests or payments relate to and the entity posts those reports in a location that is readily available to its members.