SPRIINGFIELD, Ill. — 649 emergency responder pension funds across the state have become just two.
Governor JB Pritzker signed Senate Bill 1300 into law on Wednesday to consolidate the hodgepodge of first responder pension plans.
There will, at the outset, be $6.3 billion in the fire fund and $8.7 billion in the police fund.
Pritzker said this would help to alleviate property taxes.
“One of the most critical long-term challenges we face in Illinois is our underfunded local pension liabilities and the surging property tax burdens they create,” he said.
“The consolidation of these funds could result in greater returns of up to $2.5 billion over just the next five years.”
More conservative estimates came up with a figure of $820 million over that same timeframe.
The measure’s Senate sponsor, Cristina Castro, said this bill has been in the works for 70 years.
“They (the retired first responders) did what they were supposed to do,” she said.
“We, as previous general assemblies, have failed them. We kept kicking the can down the road, and I didn’t want to be a part of that anymore.”
The bill was set to take effect immediately.
