Channahon Police Pension Fund places 408th among Illinois’ most underfunded in 2024

In 2024, the Channahon Police Pension Fund ranked 408th among the state’s most underfunded police and fire pension systems, based on data from the Illinois Department of Insurance (IDOI).

Operating under Illinois’ City pension framework, the fund disclosed total pension liabilities of $23,224,930 and reported $17,049,269 as its actuarial funding value.

This put its funding ratio at 73.4%, which means it fell short by 26.6% of the assets needed to cover its pension commitments in full.

The gap between assets and obligations left an unfunded liability of $6,175,661 for the pension system.

The Illinois Department of Insurance tracks and publishes information on local police and fire pensions, which are ultimately financially supported by local residents.

As of 2024, Illinois maintained 300 fire and 363 police pension systems. Some cities manage both types, while others oversee only one.

There are municipalities without any unfunded pension debt. In 2024, 64 cities had no police or fire pension shortfalls, and these were not included in the rankings.

Pension obligations—also known as “pension benefits”—are a form of deferred compensation, and municipal officials commit to providing these retirement benefits for public safety workers. However, in some cases, sufficient contributions from workers or local taxpayers are not secured, and pension debt accumulates, impacting future residents. To keep the systems operational, local governments make annual pension payments, largely funded by property tax revenue, as reflected in IDOI data.

Statewide in 2024, the average funding ratio for police and fire pension systems in Illinois was 65.1%, indicating many public safety retirement funds face significant underfunding.

Glencoe Firefighters Pension Fund had the lowest funding ratio, at just 0.9%.

By contrast, the Savoy Firefighters Pension Fund was the most overfunded at 797.7%, with an actuarial funding value of $149,803 surpassing its total liabilities.

Illinois’ statewide pension debt rose by $1.5 billion in 2024, reaching a total of $143.7 billion, as reported by the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability. This was the third year in a row of rising liabilities and is just below the 20-year high of $144.2 billion set in 2020.

The State Department of Insurance Public Pension Division reported that suburban and downstate pension funds in Illinois carried $12.1 billion in unfunded actuarial liabilities in 2024, combining for a funding ratio of 49.18%. This means less than half the needed assets were available to pay future benefits.

In 2024, Illinois dedicated the highest share of its GDP to unfunded pension liabilities, nearing 20%, according to an Equable Institute study.

The Illinois Policy Institute, a nonpartisan research group, states that increasing unfunded liabilities are translating into a rising financial responsibility for taxpayers. Contributions from taxpayers to the state pension systems grew from $614 million in fiscal year 1996 to $11.2 billion projected for fiscal year 2025.

Data in this report was obtained from the Illinois Department of Insurance (IDOI). The original dataset can be accessed here.