Pensions

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Chicago Police and Fire Employer Pension Funding Changes Passed in Illinois General Assembly

In December 2010 the Illinois General Assembly passed and then Governor Quinn signed legislation (Public Act 96-1495) that created a new tier of pension…

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Emanuel's pension plan: Relief on payments, casino to pay for it

This article discusses Mayor Emanuel’s plan to tackle a sharp increase in required payments to the City’s pension funds next year, based on a 2010 law aimed at bringing the City’s Police and Fire pension funds back to 90 percent funded by…

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Pensions and Politics Fuel Crisis in Illinois

This article discusses the Illinois Supreme Court ruling that found a 2013 State of Illinois law reducing pension benefits for State employees and retirees…

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About that pension wallop from the Illinois Supreme Court

This editorial followed the Illinois Supreme Court’s ruling against the constitutionality of a 2013 law that would have amended State retirees’ pension benefits to begin reducing the State’s $111 billion in pension debt. The editorial…

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Illinois High Court Tosses Out State’s Pension Fix

This article reviews the Illinois Supreme Court’s ruling against changes to pension benefits for State retirees and discusses a separate proposal for $2.2 billion in pension savings included in Governor Rauner’s FY2016 proposed budget. It…

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Court Pension Smackdown Toughens Job for U.S. Governors, Mayors

This article relates the Illinois Supreme Court’s May 8 pension ruling that upheld benefits for State retirees to similar pension…

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How to catch up on the pension crisis (if you haven't been listening for the past 10 years)

This column summarizes the history and present situation of Illinois’ worst-in-the-nation public employee pension funding crisis. It cites the Civic Federation’s recent Pension Primer…

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Watchdog Group: Chicago casino wouldn't fix city's budget problem

This segment reports on recent proposals for a casino in the City of Chicago intended to generate revenue for the City, primarily to pay down unfunded pension liabilities. The Civic Federation said it is unclear how much revenue a new…

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Supreme Court Pension Ruling Adds to FY2016 Budget Pressures

An Illinois Supreme Court decision overturning legislation to reduce the State’s massive pension costs will add to the difficulty of creating a balanced operating budget for the year that begins on July 1, 2015. The high court…

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Civic Federation Opposes Governor's Recommended Budget

Urges General Assembly to Identify Alternate Plan for Closing $6.2 Billion Budget Gap In a new report released today, the Civic Federation’s Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability opposes Governor Rauner’s recommended budget for…