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Will County Gazette

Friday, March 29, 2024

Analysis: Peotone police pension fund saw 48% shortfall in city contribution in 2016

Police 03

Of the 651 fire and police pension funds in Illinois, more than 400 were underfunded by cities in 2016, including 21 funds serving cities in Will County.

A Wirepoints analysis of the latest data from the Illinois Department of Insurance shows two-thirds of the state’s 355 police pension funds and 60 percent of its firefighter pension funds did not receive as much from municipalities as they should have under state law.

If municipalities continue falling short of their required contributions, they could end up in the same boat as Harvey, where a state court ordered the city to increase property taxes to fully fund the Harvey firefighter pensions. The firefighter pension fund was only 22 percent funded.

“Now, the state has stepped in on behalf of Harvey’s police pension fund,” Wirepoints reported. “The state comptroller has begun garnishing the city’s tax revenues to make up what the municipality failed to contribute. In response, the city has announced that 40 public safety employees will be laid off.”

A 2011 law requires the state comptroller to step in like it has in Harvey, intercepting revenue from taxes collected by the state that would usually go to municipalities.

“Harvey may be the first city to suffer garnishment, but it won’t be the last,” Wirepoints reported. “Illinois has a $10 billion downstate pension crisis – made up of municipal police and firefighter pension funds – that is separate from the state’s own $130 billion crisis.

“Some public safety funds are in good shape, but the majority are in trouble. And a growing number are approaching total insolvency. More than half of Illinois’ 651 public safety funds are less than 60 percent funded.”

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Which public safety pension funds aren’t fully funded?

Police or

Fire

Fund2016 funding ratioTotal required contributionActual city contribution2016 contribution (shortfall) / surplusPercent shortfall / surplus
PolicePeotone  26%$327,512$171,034($156,479)-48%
FireManhattan   55%$308,628$161,497($147,131)-48%
PoliceManhattan  28%$506,335$269,526($236,809)-47%
PoliceCoal City                       26%$543,860$299,400($244,460)-45%
FireFrankfort             82%$1,236,792$929,501($307,291)-25%
FireUniversity Park 60%$478,883$362,524($116,359)-24%
FireHomer Township  91%$714,994$546,303($168,691)-24%
PoliceBolingbrook  54%$4,629,198$3,631,065($998,133)-22%
FirePlainfield  131%$1,065,161$850,474($214,687)-20%
PolicePlainfield  84%$1,172,268$948,549($223,719)-19%
PoliceUniversity Park62%$496,763$408,503($88,260)-18%
PoliceBraidwood  59%$274,108$230,493($43,616)-16%
FireBolingbrook              55%$3,677,966$3,140,863($537,104)-15%
PoliceMonee  35%$244,644$218,539($26,105)-11%
FireCoal City  87%$205,475$185,112($20,363)-10%
PoliceFrankfort  58%$907,845$836,569($71,276)-8%
PoliceRomeoville  68%$1,819,775$1,696,960($122,815)-7%
PoliceNew Lenox  67%$1,101,946$1,036,551($65,395)-6%
FireLockport Township  63%$2,882,587$2,721,929($160,659)-6%
FireMinooka  112%$249,849$237,794($12,055)-5%
FireRomeoville 94%$357,855$351,767($6,088)-2%
PoliceChannahon  61%$561,984$562,298$314 0%
PoliceCrete  73%$299,281$301,401$2,120 1%
FireWilmington   70%$80,615$85,446$4,830 6%
FireMokena                81%$764,518$817,688$53,170 7%
PoliceWilmington  58%$348,775$374,680$25,905 7%
FireJoliet 54%$10,313,003$12,332,156$2,019,153 20%
PoliceJoliet  59%$11,935,460$14,559,331$2,623,871 22%
PoliceMinooka  74%$379,311$470,143$90,832 24%
PoliceLockport  64%$1,062,704$1,410,000$347,296 33%
FireNew Lenox  112%$252,652$362,982$110,331 44%
PoliceShorewood  91%$404,343$585,391$181,048 45%
FireChannahon Fire District157%$268,399$394,190$125,791 47%
PoliceCrest Hill  71%$749,813$1,125,000$375,187 50%
FirePeotone  104%$56,157$89,438$33,282 59%
FireEast Joliet  164%$137,402$246,249$108,847 79%
PoliceMokena  85%$611,157$1,345,938$734,782 120%
Source: Wirepoints; Illinois Department of Insurance

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