One former Schaumburg Park District employee alone has accumulated more than $1 million in pension benefits after retiring at age 55.

If lawmakers continue to balk at building the tools necessary to reform pensions, bankruptcy will be the only way out for communities across the state.

Reforming future benefit growth via a constitutional amendment is the only way to ensure the retirement security of government workers, protect taxpayer budgets and fulfill the needs of Illinoisans reliant on core services.

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.