Just like Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel did late in his term, Mayor Lori Lightfoot is calling for public pension reforms. Pensions are damaging cities, she said.

The typical career state pensioner earns more in retirement than Illinoisans do working. Households now pay over three times more than they did nearly two decades ago to cover the costs.

Illinois’ five statewide pensions system saw their debt increase by nearly $10 billion to a grand total of $140 billion in fiscal year 2022. Pensions will cost the state nearly $11 billion next year, but that’s still $4.4 billion too little.

The Biden administration promised nearly $36 billion to stabilize pension plans for Teamsters nationwide after forecasts predicted the system’s default by 2026. Union members would have seen their retirement benefits slashed by 60% if the system defaulted.

A former CTA clerk was indicted on five counts of wire fraud for allegedly creating and approving 43 fraudulent benefit requests.

Illinois taxpayers spent $3.3 billion more on public pensions between 2017 and 2022 than state forecasts said they would. Had that money not evaporated, it could have paid to repave 150,000 miles of roads or for nearly 25,000 full-ride scholarships.

A new financial report predicts residents in the nation’s largest cities will pay more for pensions next year as inflation and recessionary fears “erase” 2021 gains. Chicago topped the big cities for pension debt.

Pension expert Richard Ennis analyzed public pension performance of 24 funds, finding the Teachers’ Retirement System of Illinois among the worst after underperforming for 10 years.