On December 4, 2008, Illinois State Representative Robert S. Molaro resigned after serving about 15 years in the state legislature, and was eligible to receive a public pension of about $64,000 per year based on the standard of 85% of his roughly $75,000 annual salary. Burke hired the newly retired Molaro for $12,000 for one month to write a 19-page white paper about Chicago's perennially under-funded pensions. When Molaro officially retired on January 1, 2009, his pensionable salary was annualized as $144,000, nearly doubling his pension. On August 16, 2012, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed a bill which limited the state's liability when former state legislators bolster their state pensions with short-term jobs with cities, counties and other local governments.