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Ill. House reconsiders closing pension loopholes

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - Some Illinois lawmakers are having second thoughts about cracking down on pension abuses by union officials, including two lobbyists who qualified for teacher pensions by spending a single day in the classroom.

The General Assembly approved legislation last month that was meant to take pension benefits away from those lobbyists and others who are getting government pension benefits for time they spent working in unions.

But now, key House Democrats say the legislation may be unconstitutional. They say it's not legal to take benefits away after someone has earned them, even by questionable means.

An Illinois House pension committee voted 5-3 Sunday for a new bill closing such loopholes in the future but doing nothing about people who have already taken advantage.