Thanks to the Illinois Policy Institute and the panelists who presented Tuesday night’s debate on whether Illinois should shift the burden for teachers pensions from the state to local school districts in an attempt to alleviate the state’s pension crisis.

School District 47 Board President Jeff Mason, District 155 teacher and Illinois Education Association representative Mike Sayre, and Diana Rickert, media relations director for the Illinois Policy Institute and former Northwest Herald reporter, provided thoughtful answers to questions posed by me, state Rep. Tom Morrison, R-Palatine, and members of the audience.

Rickert and her organization are strong advocates for the shift, reasonably arguing that local school boards are the ones who set salaries and teachers benefits and likely would be more judicious if they were on the hook to pay pension costs in the future.