It’s mid-December and we still have no meaningful pension reform package proposed by leadership in Springfield. Since House Speaker Mike Madigan, and to a lesser extent Gov. Pat Quinn, are in charge, that could be a blessing in disguise.

It’s also a disgrace, as the pension deficit grows each day. Now it’s somewhere in the neighborhood of $94 billion. The deficit growth would make a Powerball jackpot winner blush while Quinn and Democratic leaders fiddle.

Last week, it took a group of about two dozen rank-and-file members of the General Assembly to get some kind of proposal on the table to deal with the crippling financial crisis. While there may be flaws in the proposal, at least they aren’t sitting idly by, waiting for legislative leadership to guide them.