Concept of “consideration” allows state workers to negotiate for new benefits and could pave a path toward pension reform.
The city’s rating from Fitch is now just one notch above junk status.
The Illinois Supreme Court’s overturning of Chicago’s modest pension reform means Chicago faces higher pension contributions, rapidly growing pension debt and an increased risk of total insolvency for its pension funds.
Despite striking down a pension-reform package aimed at reducing Chicago’s pension debt, the Illinois Supreme Court opened the door for future legislative reforms.
While striking down modest reforms to Chicago city-worker pensions, the Illinois Supreme Court has effectively given state lawmakers the green light on other avenues for pension reform.
Pension holidays, steep increases in teachers' salaries, and lopsided ratios of teacher contributions to pension payouts have caused the Chicago Teachers’ Pension Fund’s unfunded liabilities to shoot up to $9 billion in 2015.
Illinois’ growing pension costs – not the state budget gridlock – are taking away funding for essential government services, such as education.
Spending on state-worker pension benefits grew 586 percent between 2000 and 2015.
The perk costs taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars each year.
More than 1.7 million Illinoisans hold student-loan debt.
State-run teacher pensions have a shortfall of $37,000 per student, while Chicago's shortfall totals $24,000.
Skyrocketing pensions, bloated administrations are pricing students out of college degrees
The crisis threatens to burden taxpayers with massive, ever-escalating taxes to bail out a system that is not sustainable – government-worker pensions consume a fourth of the state’s budget.
Government-worker union officials filed papers with the Illinois General Assembly in favor of the “pension holiday” that contributed to the state’s $111 billion pension debt.