The Chicago City Council last week lobbied Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn through a letter to veto public safety pension reform legislation recently approved by the General Assembly.
Mayor Richard Daley has warned that the reforms would require a 60% property tax increase. For Chicago, the main problem is a provision that would requiring it make annual contributions to the public safety pensions based on an actuarial formula. Current city contribution are based on a percentage of salary, which has typically fallen far short of the actuarial contribution.
The bill also raises the retirement age and limits the final average salary on which pensions are based for new employees.
Others are urging the governor to sign the bill. The Civic Federation of Chicago wrote to the governor: "This bill is an important step toward saving many public safety pension funds that are at risk of running out of money to pay promised benefits."
