Perhaps emboldened by this week's decision in the Detroit bankruptcy case and passage of a state pension reform bill by Illinois lawmakers on Dec. 3, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is pushing to reduce city pensions, which will require an additional $590 million in funding in 2015 if no deal is reached. According to a New York Times article, the situation is “nearer and more difficult” for Chicago than for the state — a deal must be reached by November 2014 to avoid either doubling property taxes or elimination of city services.
Union opponents of the Chicago plan point to the state constitution, which has “clear and precise” language about reduction of pension rights, and note that the city is not bankrupt or even close to it. The Times article cited a recent deal with Chicago parks workers that closed a similar deficit via measures like requiring people to be 58 years old to claim 30 years of service rather than at age 50.
