By: Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner
In case you missed it, the Illinois General Assembly recently passed a bill full of pension sweeteners for Chicago police and firefighters hired after 2010 – the so-called Tier 2 workers. Chicago officials say it will cost city taxpayers an additional $6.6 billion over the next 30 years and that it’ll worsen the funding levels of the public safety pension funds to a miserable 18%.
It’s a horrible idea that will only worsen the retirement security of Chicago’s police and firefighters and burden future Chicagoans with even more overwhelming tax hikes.
The bill is currently sitting on Gov. Pritzker’s desk, waiting for his signature or veto.
What were lawmakers thinking, you might ask? And what about the governor? Why didn’t he kill the bill before it ever got started? Don’t they care that Chicago’s public safety pension plans are among the very worst-funded in the nation? Or that property taxes have been hiked incessantly since Rahm Emanuel’s time as mayor, largely to keep the city’s pension plans afloat? Or that the city of Chicago and its sister governments are in the midst of billion-dollar budget crises, in large part driven by pension costs? Or that Chicago already has the worst credit rating in the country, worse, even, than Detroit?
Nah. They don’t care.
The other thing you should know is that lawmakers have figured out a trick to “soften” the blow of these big pension sweeteners: throw as much of the costs into the future through the use of what’s called a “ramp”.
In this case, the bill hits the city budget (aka, taxpayers) with an additional $60 million in contributions to public safety pensions in 2027. By 2055 the increase in contributions ramps up by a whopping $753 million. Talk about sticking it to the city’s future generations.
Thank Gov. Edgar and the Illinois General Assembly of 1994. The ramp they passed back then is still used today to hide the true costs of benefit increases from taxpayers.
Two more things. We’re huge supporters of our public safety workers and the work they do to protect us. But making promises that ruin their retirement security – and that threaten the very solvency of Chicago – doesn’t help anybody.
Second, count on every other Chicago public sector union, and indeed across the state, to demand the same boosted Tier 2 benefits. The additional cost to taxpayers of those demands could reach as high as $100 billion over the next 30 years.
What a big mess our lawmakers have made.
Read more from Wirepoints:
- Why Gov. Pritzker Should Veto Chicago Tier 2 Pension Sweeteners
- No, Gov. Edgar, your version of “compromise” isn’t what Illinois needs
- Common sense prevails for once in the Illinois statehouse
- More than $1 billion in market losses is a reminder of how close Chicago pensions are to the brink
Appendix.
Audio and summary 
If this bill passes, say goodbye to local control over all Illinois parks and expect to see open drug and alcohol use, needles, no sanitation and fire hazards, but no ordinary park users.
The last chart shows Chicago is lower rated than Detroit. That’s hard to pull off!
Important point, almost every republican voted for this bill in house and senate. And nobody’s asking why, because its for cops & fire?
Rest assured even if fat boy veto’s this bill, chumbolones can count on some other Tier II “fix” skulduggery bill will appear in next budget.
As a city resident what’s most despicable is that not one alderman, brandono or any other city politician has said a peep about this gut-and-replace back door sneaky martwick Sh#t deal. Not one person in press asked are pols to make a statement?….If JB doesn’t veto it a watershed moment folks.
And as usual, they have no plan, no new revenue source, identified to pay for Tier II “fix” sweetener along with everything else
Won’t be my kids. They’ve abandoned the Titanic that is Chicago for cheaper , greener pastures
So now it’s clear, nobody from spingfield to city hall to are press fluffers care. all up to JB. This is pretty much “the straw that broke the camels back” moment for this life long second generation senior. As it’s a giant screw you to the chumbolone class and all are hardscrabble home equity, etc. And so much for “fighting for the working class”? WHAT YA GOING TO DO FAT BOY??
Pay the many gangs in Chicago to be Police Mercenary’s. Cost much less and they would do a much better job at protecting the peoples.
A desperate attempt to stop early departures for cities governed by honest, sensible citizens.
I keep asking and nobody seems to know.
Once again, does the estimated $6.6 bill Chicago cop & fire pension sweetener apply ONLY to benefits accrued form previous services rendered, from 2011 to present? Or from any future increase on accrued benefits going forward? What are the future costs? Then, if pension sweetener ONLY applies to past, what are the estimated pension cost for future services?
Also, linked trib article put estimated cost at $11 bill not $6.6 bill?
Arguably, the good news is that the City will be forced into bankruptcy sooner.
No politician can contemplate a time horizon longer than the date of their next election. If a new benefit or freebie sounds like the successful path to reelection, go for it. The old election “wisdom” was that every police and fire household was worth five votes so the calculation here is the same one that’s been made for decades: Get out the democrat vote.
Outstanding assessment. You use serious words.
For the headline, I might try “Politicians buy votes by screwing taxpayers and cutting funds for services.”
Nobody denies this although you must expect some thumbs-down from the inarticulate left.