City Applauds Illinois General Assembly Passage of Police and Fire Pension Reform

Pension Reform Bill Offers Initial Reforms for Taxpayer Relief

The City of Naperville, a founding partner of the Pension Fairness for Illinois Communities Coalition, applauds the Illinois General Assembly's passage of Senate Bill 3538, which is an important first step towards meaningful police and fire pension reform. The Illinois Senate passed the bill on Thursday, December 2 after passage in the Illinois House on Tuesday, November 30 and now requires urgent approval by Gov. Pat Quinn so it can become effective on January 1, 2011. Police and fire pension reform was the City of Naperville's only legislative priority in 2010.

“I want to thank all of Naperville's legislators that voted in support of this important pension reform legislation,” Mayor A. George Pradel said. “An overwhelming 83 percent of Naperville voters demanded pension reform in the last election through a referendum, and passing this bill is a great first step to answering the citizen call for tax relief.”

Senate Bill 3538 will create a two-tiered system for police and fire employees hired after January 1, 2011, among other modifications to the pension system. Changes include:

• Increasing the normal retirement age to 55 from 50

• Setting a pensionable salary cap at $106,800

• Calculating pensions using an average final salary based upon the highest eight consecutive years out of the last 10 years

From the beginning, the City of Naperville and the Pension Fairness for Illinois Communities Coalition have pushed for a comprehensive package of meaningful reforms to address the police and fire pension problems that are burdening Illinois taxpayers.

“While this bill is not the total solution to the public safety pension problem, it does provide a better pension system in the long term,” said City Manager Doug Krieger, one of five negotiating members of the Pension Fairness for Illinois Communities Coalition throughout the year. “In the short term, however, Naperville and other cities will still have to manage the massive costs of current pension plans. In particular, we anticipate the state study on the financial condition of all police and fire pension funds will help raise awareness of the current unsustainable public safety pension systems. We look forward to working with the new General Assembly in the 2011 legislative session and beyond to continue to fix the Illinois pension problem.”

For more information on the Pension Fairness for Illinois Communities Coalition, visit www.pensionfairness.org. For more information on the City of Naperville, visit www.naperville.il.us.