Pensions eat Oak Park and River Forest budgets

Tuesday, August 7th, 2012 10:00 PM

Last week we had an Oak Park village trustee utter the word bankruptcy during a discussion of next year's municipal budget and the consequences of pension obligations going forward. And while that was stunning to hear, we didn't find it alarmist.

Reality is that for the same reasons Illinois' state government is paralyzed by pension issues for its current and retired staff and by its obligations to teachers across most of the state, there are parallel worries at every municipal government when it comes to police and fire, and other staff pension obligations.

Pensions have been overpromised, underfinanced and then KOd by the grim economic realities of recent years. This is bollix has been brewing for decades, ignored during good times and buried every time sincere critics raised concerns.

Now it is here. Right here. In front of us. And the solutions, both at the state and the local level, are painful and likely unfair both to those in line for pensions and for strapped taxpayers who are ultimately going to pay more.

Add in the concept gaining steam in Springfield to gradually offload teacher pension obligations to local school districts and you have the potential for screaming pain ahead. That local schools should very slowly come to shoulder some portion of teacher retirement costs makes sense to us. The lack of responsibility for any pension costs over the decades contributed to unrealistic payouts being approved by local schools with the costs being shifted to the state.

Now, however, Democrats in Springfield want to unburden the state of this obligation. Republicans are resistant. And the likely outcome — watch for it when the legislature convenes for a single day next week — is more posturing and failing.

We recall a village board decision a few years back not to add permanent firefighter positions. The reason, Village President David Pope said, wasn't that Oak Park couldn't afford the salaries at the time but that it couldn't afford to take on the pension obligations in the long run. These are tough, pragmatic choices that need to be made and haven't been made in the past.

Every time you read a Springfield story about pension costs and their impact on providing a full range of services we've come to expect, remember that there is a similar story in Oak Park, in River Forest. And if Springfield offloads teacher pensions, then in Districts 90, 97 and 200, too.

Reader Comments

8 Comments - Add Your Comment

Comment Policy

paul from oak park

Posted: August 15th, 2012 12:44 PM

Really Wednesday Journal? Pope tough and pragmatic? He sure got tough with Swenson's and Chen's pensions. Wait, he didn't. These guys are going to be feasting on multiple pensions from all the different states they have worked in. Does that sound fair? In the old days teachers were paid small salaries but had decent pensions. Now they are ending up at retirement with market rate salaries and incredible pensions. Fair? The state, the village and the school board have not been minding the store.

What did you expect? from Oak Park

Posted: August 10th, 2012 9:17 AM

The average teacher salary at OPRF is $97,500, on top of their cushy pensions and shortened work year. Hardly working class. More like the $100K club.

Outsource the Whole Village to India from OP

Posted: August 10th, 2012 8:22 AM

Sorry, Blue Collar, but the truth hurts -- pensions are killing us (agreed that its not just blue collar pensions, but ALL of them). Let's outsource all of the Village jobs to India and save a boatload! I mean, the services couldn't be worse....

Blue Collar

Posted: August 8th, 2012 10:42 PM

Here we go again! Blame the pensions on the working class people. What about the management personnel and their outrageous salaries and pensions at the school, municipal, county and state levels?

A realist from Oak Park

Posted: August 8th, 2012 12:08 PM

Government--at all levels--has been a Ponzi scheme for decades. "Don't worry about cost, growth will take care of that later." But, we're just not going to see the growth we've seen before. Just 1% to 1.5% for the U.S. in the foreseeable future. Businesses get it. Government doesn't and looks to dump the bill somewhere else. Let Pat Quinn grow a pair and negotiate overpromised pensions with unions. Nope, he'll dump the costs on 97 and 200 and let us pay for Springfield's mistakes.

Dan in Oak Park

Posted: August 8th, 2012 11:19 AM

One way to help pay for the pensions would be to make the benefits taxable. Right now, in addition to the state paying the pensions, the beneficiaries get the money state tax free. Why should the retired of Illinois get their government at no cost? After all, the Feds already tax your social security and retirement benefits.

What did you expect? from Oak Park

Posted: August 8th, 2012 9:22 AM

The teachers themselves must also accept responsibility for the noxious, decades-long money grab of pension-bloating preretirement salary bumps. After all, the school board couldn't rubber-stamp it if the teachers' union hadn't asked for it. I've considered this a form of institutional fraud ever since the school board started using it at as an unblinking explanation for its bloated teacher salaries. Thankfully the state has scaled back their ability to perpetrate this ab

Brian from Oak Park

Posted: August 8th, 2012 9:00 AM

Thanks WJ for the thoughtful piece. Off-loading the pensions on local districts, while grudgingly likely is a big question for OP and other less well-off communities. Our representatives need to tell us, at this point in time, it will cost local taxpayers $X next year and estimated to be $Y for each year over the next 10. A $100 increase in taxes reduces home affordability by $21,000, all things equal. Spinelessness on the part of State leadership by avoiding full disclosure is no excuse.

What's new on OakPark.com