Contracts in perpetuity

We offer two competing constitutional clauses for your consideration –

Clause #1:  Membership in any pension or retirement system of the State, any unit of local
government or school district, or any agency or instrumentality thereof, shall be an
enforceable contractual relationship, the benefits of which shall not be diminished or
impaired.  Source:  Illinois constitution.  Section 5.  (This clause is the legal basis for refusal
to permit any changes to existing pension contracts with Illinois public employees.)

Clause #2:  The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government…  Article IV, Section 4 – US Constitution.  (FYI – this clause is referred to as the “guarantee clause” because it dictates that the all laws must be subject to the consent of the governed, or so it seems.)

Now there is one other pertinent clause that also should be mentioned.  It is in the US Constitution and is referred to as the “supremacy clause.”  Here it is:  “This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the constitution or laws of any state to the contrary notwithstanding.”  (Clause speaks for itself – states cannot nullify federal law – it reigns supreme.”)

In our democracy, everyone gets to vote as long as you are a citizen and 18 years old.  All states must abide because it too is in the US Constitution – Amendment XXVI:

Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.

Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

So let’s say you were born in 1997 in the state of Illinois.  This year you reach the age of 18 and you want to vote to do away with the states pension’s contracts or just modify them in a form that “diminishes or impairs” their benefits.  You can’t.  You are precluded by the Illinois constitution from so doing.  Even though the federal constitution which reigns supreme guarantees you the right to so do.

Prima facie – on its face – the clause in the Illinois constitution is unconstitutional because no law can be passed in perpetuity nor can any contract exist in perpetuity.  It never made sense for such to be the case.  Sure, cleveristas (public employee unions) in Illinois got the clause in the constitution and the people passed it.  Such has always been the case – there is always a smarty pants who can pull off stunts like this for a brief period.  And this is why we have courts which are supposed to finally get around to eliminating the stunts.   America is way past due on fixing this one.