Pension reform is a moral imperative. The alternative is a future in which core services are cut, taxes are raised, and pensioners risk losing what they’ve already been promised as the funds go insolvent.

While often regarded as a duplicative and unnecessary unit of government, former township employees in Illinois have banked more than $273 million in pension benefits since 1998.

More than a dozen city and park district retirees in Highland Park have received more than $1 million in pension benefits each.

The average lifetime pension benefit among the county’s 20 highest-earning municipal retirees is more than $1.2 million, while their average total retirement contribution is less than $75,000.

Among the 23 former city of Springfield employees who retired at age 50, five have accumulated more than $1 million in pension benefits.

Active Des Plaines Park District pensioners – including two pension millionaires – have put taxpayers on the hook for more than $7.6 million in pension payouts since 1996.

Lake County residents pay some of the highest property taxes in the nation – a burden driven by the growth in pension costs over the last 20 years.