Title Page & Abstract
An Interview with Ray Ackerman
Part of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library
Illinois Statecraft Oral History project
Interview # ISC-A-L-2016-021
Ray Ackerman, former legislative Chairman for the RSEA (Retired State Employees Association), was interviewed on the date listed below as part of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library’s Illinois Statecraft – Pension Crisis in Illinois Oral History project.
Interview dates & location:
Date: April 20, 2016 Location: Springfield, Illinois
Interview Format: Digital audio
Interviewer: Philip Pogue, ALPL volunteer
Transcript being processed.
Transcription by: _________________________
Edited by: _______________________________
Total Pages: ______ Total Time: 0:51 / 0.85 hrs.
Accessioned into the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Archives on June 7, 2016.
The interview is archived at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield, Illinois.
© 2016 Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library
Ray Ackerman, Illinois Statecraft, ISC-A-L-2016-021
Biographical Information Overview of Interview: Ray Ackerman was born in Morton, Illinois in January, 1918. He attended a one room school for eight years and graduating from Morton Township High School in 1935. Following graduation, Ray worked on his family farm and did seasonal work in a local Morton canning factory. He also measured farm cropland for participation in USDA farm programs. In 1943 Ackerman graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in Civil Engineering. This led him to a position at Douglas Aircraft in California. He then joined the Merchant Marine during World War II, serving in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters of war. After the war Ray worked for the American Bridge Company, then in 1949 he joined the Illinois Division of Highways working first in Peoria and then in Springfield. As a result, Ray was involved with the design of the Peoria bridge over the Illinois River, as well as planning for Interstates 74 and 474. Ackerman then moved to Springfield, Illinois, and served in such capacities as Assistant Engineer of Planning in the central office of the Division of Highways, Transportation Systems Plan Manager with the Illinois Department of Transportation, Chief Highway Program Planning, and Section Chief, Aviation Program Planning. He retired from the state in 1980, and then worked part time in a land surveying business, then a local engineering firm, and then an investment firm. Ray also served as the Legislative Chairman for the Retired State Employees Association from 1984 to 1995, and wrote a report on his legislative experiences entitled “Ten Years at the Statehouse” in 1998. Ray passed away on January 6, 2019 at age 101.
Ackerman discusses the state’s pension legislation from 1980 to 1995. Topics he addressed include the Prudent Person Rule (1982), COLA (Cost of Living Allowance) language (1989), the elimination of state taxes on retirement income, the Pension Reform Bill of 1995, Illinois’s early retirement plans (“Tier 0” employee pre-1998), and the creation of a survivors benefit. Also, discussed were the legislature’s and governors’ under-funding of pensions level, the role of taxes in political elections, Governor Jim Thompson’s Retirement System Task Force recommendations in 1986, and the diversion of pension funds to general operating funds. Ackerman also discusses Senate Bill 1 of 2013, and the court challenges to that legislation.
Subject Headings/Key Words: 1989 COLA legislation compounded at 3% per year; runaway inflation of the early 1980s; 1995 Illinois pension reform; Gov. Jim Thompson’s Retirement System Task Force; Retired State Employees Association; survivor beneficiaries retirement law; state income tax debate during gubernatorial elections; diverting pension funds to general revenue funds; Illinois early retirement plans
Note to the Reader: Readers of the oral history memoir should bear in mind that this is a transcript of the spoken word, and that the interviewer, interviewee and editor sought to preserve the informal, conversational style that is inherent in such historical sources. The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library is not responsible for the factual accuracy of the memoir, nor for the views expressed therein. We leave these for the reader to judge.
COPYRIGHT
The following material can be used for educational and other non-commercial purposes without the written permission of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library. “Fair use” criteria of Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976 must be followed. These materials are not to be deposited in other repositories, nor used for resale or commercial purposes without the authorization from the Audio-Visual Curator at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library, 112 N. 6th Street, Springfield, Illinois 62701. Telephone (217) 785-7955
POSSIBLE EXCERPTS
21-creating the compounded COLA language in 1989
28 & 48-the role of Governor Thompson’s Retirement Task Force 1986
35-the impact of the 1995 Pension Reform legislation
31-the forgotten Tier 0 state employees who did not benefit from the formula change of 1998.