Rahm Emanuel, Michael Madigan and John Cullerton deliver a devastating blow to Chicago Police & Firefighters Pensions - Giving Chicago a complete pass on making pension payments and kicking the can down the road - Illinois Corrupt Democratic (and 3 Republican) Lawmakers deal Illinois Gov Bruce Rauner a blow, override proof veto of Chicago pension bill

Illinois State lawmakers delivered a blow to Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner on Monday as a handful of Republicans joined Democrats to override the governor's veto of a bill to provide Chicago with police and fire pension relief.

The Democrats' razor-thin supermajority in the state House was bolstered by votes from three Republicans. Rep. David Harris of Arlington Heights, Rep. David McSweeney of Barrington Hills and Rep. Michael McAuliffe of Chicago were among 72 voting to overturn the veto, one more than the minimum needed.

The Senate voted in favor of the override earlier in the day, so the pension bill now becomes law. It is the first time that the Democrat-controlled General Assembly has succeeded in overturning a Rauner veto without first reaching a deal with the governor.

The bill, long sought by Mayor Rahm Emanuel and passed by the General Assembly last year, provides short-term relief by reducing how much taxpayers contribute to the retirement funds by hundreds of millions of dollars a year. But it comes at a price, adding billions of dollars in long-term costs because the city's pension debt would continue to grow.

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