WHAT: Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has unveiled a pension reform proposal that is based on tax increases and keeping in place Chicago’s dated, broken pension system. Longtime pension reform advocates and experts with the Illinois Policy Institute are available to comment on the mayor’s proposal and can explain why Mayor Emanuel should demand stronger reforms if he wants to solve Chicago’s pension problem.
WHO: John Tillman, CEO of Illinois Policy Institute
TALKING POINTS:
*Mayor Emanuel previously has expressed support for modernizing Chicago’s retirement plans by moving to a 401(k)-style system, the most popular retirement vehicle in the private sector. Unfortunately, there has been no mention of a 401(k) in the most recent plan – a major flaw. The only way to really fix Chicago’s pension crisis is for the city to use the model that’s already working in the private sector and in other states that have implemented reform, such as Rhode Island and Michigan.
*By not moving to a 401(k)-style system, Mayor Emanuel is proposing that politicians remain in control of workers’ pensions. City workers deserve to have choice and control over their own retirement, because it is politicians who pushed the pension system into insolvency in the first place.
*Firefighters, police officers, teachers and transit workers are missing from Mayor Emanuel’s proposal. That means about half of city workers would not even be affected by the mayor’s proposal.
*Police and fire pension funds in Chicago are among the worst-funded in the nation. The police officers’ pension fund has just 25 cents for every $1 that has been promised, and the firefighters’ pension fund has just 31 cents for every $1 that has been promised.