This report is a 2026 update with numbers through 2025. The original report with numbers from FY2014-2023 is published here. The Chicago Public Schools District (CPS, or the ‘District’) has over 45,000 employees, all of whom are guaranteed a pension after retirement if they have met service time requirements. The teachers and some administrators participate in the Chicago Teachers’…
The Civic Federation's State Pension Dashboard is intended for use as a resource and educational tool to increase the accessibility of Illinois state pension fund data. The dashboard reports metrics for the five state-funded retirement systems of Illinois, with data from fiscal year 1990 to fiscal year 2024. Using this tool, dashboard users can explore trends and compare performance across funds…
Each fall, the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget (GOMB) issues its Illinois Economic and Fiscal Policy report, which serves as the State of Illinois’ (Illinois or the ‘State’) primary long-term fiscal planning document and an early indicator of whether Illinois is structurally balanced heading into the next budget year. The 2025 edition of the report, released on October 9, 2025, about a…
The Local Pension Dashboard is intended for use as a resource and educational tool to increase the accessibility of local pension fund data. The dashboard reports metrics for the ten major local pension funds within the City of Chicago and Cook County, Illinois, with data from 1996 to 2024 (2024 CTA data is not included as that data has not been released as of publication). Using this tool,…
Derek Douglas, Joe Ferguson, and David Greising urge Gov. JB Pritzker to veto recently passed legislation that would increase pension benefits for Tier 2 Chicago police officers and firefighters, warning it will cost taxpayers $60 million next year and $750 million over time while worsening already dire pension underfunding. They note Chicago’s police and fire pensions are only about 25% funded,…
CPS teachers draw their pensions from a different fund than other employees. Both funds are substantially underfunded. The Teachers’ Pension Fund is less supported by the state than teachers’ pensions in the rest of Illinois. This could be solved by consolidating the Chicago fund with the downstate fund. The District and the City continue to dispute which body is responsible for covering the…
by A.D. Quig, Olivia Olander, and Jeremy GornerJune 12, 2025
A coalition of civic organizations is urging Governor Pritzker and legislative leaders to delay action on last-minute Tier 2 pension legislation that could undermine Illinois’ fiscal stability and credit rating. The proposed changes go well beyond the Governor’s original plan and lack sufficient scrutiny or actuarial analysis. The group calls for transparency, careful evaluation, and stakeholder…
A comparative analysis of state expenditures finds that Illinois allocates a larger portion of its operational expenditures to pension obligations than most peer states. Illinois’ annual expenditures on state-level public pensions totaled nearly $12.2 billion, or approximately 11% of Illinois’ total operational expenditures, based on FY2023 national data. This substantial allocation surpasses…
