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Ill. House adopts ban on 'crafty' pension abuse

An inside view of the dome of the Illinois State Capitol building in Springfield, Ill.
(via Flickr/jglazer75)
An inside view of the dome of the Illinois State Capitol building in Springfield, Ill.

The Illinois House has voted to crack down on public pension abuses.

Lawmakers voted 111-3 Thursday to prevent public employees who served in union positions from receiving pensions from both the government and the union.

The measure sponsored by House Minority Leader Tom Cross also limits the size of pensions. An employee who takes a leave of absence from his public job to serve in a union post must receive a pension based on his public salary before the leave -- not the higher union salary.

Cross says some employees have been "crafty and creative" in cashing in on pensions.

The legislation now moves to the Senate.

Cross also is sponsoring a larger, union-opposed pension measure designed to save the government money.