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Data outlined in the city’s annual comprehensive financial
report further highlights that the city’s four employee pension
funds representing police officers, firefighters, municipal
employees and laborers jumped by 5% in 2023.
While Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson recently boasted of the city
now being on the right track in terms of getting the city’s
pension system in order, state Sen. Craig Wilcox, R-McHenry,
sees things entirely different.
“Unfortunately, everything that the General Assembly has
attempted, whether it was consolidation of the police and fire
pensions, it didn't come without pension enhancements,” Wilcox
told The Center Square.
With the city’s taxpayers facing a $2.74 billion pension bill in
2025 and the funds structured to pay pensions to the police
officers, firefighters and municipal workers funded at only
roughly 22% of promised benefits, Wilcox frets the worst may
still be yet to come unless the right steps are taken.
“You start cutting all of those new growth programs that they
started during COVID or a new growth program that they thought
was a good idea,” he said. “What I'm talking about is zero based
budgeting where you start from zero and build up your true needs
and then you add on top your wants and desires and you draw the
line where the taxpayers can handle it. Unfortunately, that's
not the way the majority party goes.”
Overall, Chicago’s four pension funds have a combined funded
level of 26%, compared to other large public pension funds that
total around 70%.
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