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Today’s Daily Chicagoan is brought to you, in part, by: |
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Good morning, Chicago. Start your Wednesday with these stories from WTTW News. |
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(Village of Schaumburg) |
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The sweeping overhaul of Illinois police and firefighter pensions — once mired in lawsuits and distrust — is starting to show some positive returns.
Records obtained by WTTW News reveal consolidation efforts are boosting funding and easing the financial strain on communities long burdened by rising pension costs.
It isn’t a cure-all for local taxpayers, but it’s helping keep local public safety funds afloat. Reports show decreased operating costs, and funding around the state has improved for local pensions.
Some backstory:
Signed by Gov. JB Pritzker in 2019, the Illinois law sought to increase investing options for local police and fire departments outside Chicago, to decrease the cost of investment advising and to strengthen pension security.
Before this legislation, each fund made investment decisions individually. Local funds began transferring assets to the new consolidated managers in 2021.
Other obstacles to pension reform in Illinois remain, including potential proposals to adjust Tier 2 benefits. Tier 2 employees, hired after those in Tier 1, require a higher retirement age and have a lower salary cap.
There has also been recent turmoil in the markets. But in the world of pensions, recent funding momentum appears positive.
The law merged local public safety management into two statewide investment funds, the Illinois Police Officers’ Pension Investment Fund for Article 3 pensions and the Illinois Firefighters’ Pension Investment Fund for those under Article 4.
Not every local fund had to consolidate. Some small municipalities weren’t required to join because the plans pay retirement benefits as they go or lack investments.
There is still great variation in the funding levels of individual pensions, and managing the assets of large departments in places like Aurora and Naperville is very different from managing the smallest funds, which might be as small as a volunteer fire department with one paid chief.
All of the qualifying fire pensions with investment assets have been consolidated into the fire investment fund. All but two required to transfer assets into the consolidated fund have done so, according to a spokesperson from the police fund. The state funds manage $25 billion in assets for about 650 departments and fire protection districts. |
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(Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News) |
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Hoping the third time will be the charm, Mayor Brandon Johnson on Tuesday offered to reduce his proposed corporate tax hike to spare companies with fewer than 500 employees in an effort to break the stalemate surrounding Chicago’s 2026 spending plan.
Much of the debate over Johnson’s 2026 budget, which would impose $623 million in new taxes on the wealthiest Chicagoans and largest firms, has centered on his call to reimpose the so-called head tax to generate $100 million to fund violence prevention and youth employment programs.
The current proposal would impose a $33 per employee tax on companies with 500 or more employees to generate $82 million to fund violence prevention and youth employment programs.
While Johnson and his allies have defended the head tax as the best way to continue funding the programs they credit with reducing Chicago’s homicide rate by approximately 29% and the city’s overall violent crime rate by more than 22%, opponents contend the tax will kill jobs and stifle economic growth.
It is unclear whether a majority of the City Council would support a head tax at any level.
Some pushback:
Three of the mayor’s leading critics quickly blasted the revised proposal, reducing the chances for an immediate breakthrough.
Ald. Nicole Lee (11th Ward) said the head tax would prompt employers to scale back their hiring plans, hurting the city’s economy, and Ald. Felix Cardona (31st Ward) said that slowdown would hurt Black and Latino Chicagoans hardest, while Ald. Matt O'Shea (19th Ward) called the proposal nothing more than a “clever marketing tool.”
“This sends the wrong message at the wrong time that Chicago is not open for business,” O’Shea said.
Twenty-six members of the Chicago City Council have signed on to a plan to bridge Chicago’s $1.19 billion budget gap without hiking taxes on large firms. Johnson has promised to veto a budget that includes a reimposed grocery tax, hikes garbage fees or property taxes.
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Surveillance footage allegedly showing Lawrence Reed holding a flaming bottle onboard a CTA Blue Line train on Nov. 17, 2025. (U.S. Attorney's Office) |
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Federal transit authorities have threatened to withhold CTA funding over reports of “high crime rates” on Chicago’s bus and train lines, weeks after a woman was set on fire on board a Blue Line train downtown.
In letters sent to both Mayor Brandon Johnson and Gov. JB Pritzker, the Federal Transit Administration on Sunday issued a special directive calling for “immediate, measurable corrective actions” aimed at reducing violent crime and addressing “unsafe conditions.”
“Creating a safe, reliable transit system is the responsibility of leaders at every level. CTA, the City of Chicago, and the State of Illinois have failed to meet this obligation,” Federal Transit Administrator Marc Molinaro wrote in the letters. “If CTA does not promptly increase its law enforcement presence, FTA will act, including by withholding federal funds.”
The letter repeatedly cites the high-profile attack on 26-year-old Bethany MaGee, who was doused with gasoline at random and lit on fire as she rode a CTA Blue Line train last month. She survived and continues recovering from her critical injuries. |
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On Tuesday, members of the No New Prisons IL campaign gathered at Daley Plaza to call on Gov. JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Corrections to endorse the Logan Transfer Rapid Response Plan, which the campaign hopes will mitigate the harm of prison transfers once Logan Correctional Center closes. The campaign said they shared the plan with the governor’s office and IDOC last month and have received only “general acknowledgements” of the request.
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Back in the Day: Dec. 10, 1985 - Illinois Police and Firefighters Gain Collective Bargaining Rights
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On this day 40 years ago, the then-Republican governor of Illinois, James Thompson, signed into law a landmark bill granting collective bargaining rights for police and firefighters statewide. While the measure didn't necessarily affect Chicago as its Fire and Police Departments had already been unionized, it did allow its neighbors and downstate towns the same labor protections. Though it did allow police and firefighters to hold strikes, any unresolved contract disputes would go into arbitration, which could be vetoed with a 3/5 vote from local governments. The law amended the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act of 1984, which made Illinois the last northern industrial state to grant collective bargaining rights to public employees.
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Chicago-Area Live Music Recommendations for Dec. 10-16
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Each Wednesday, WTTW News producer Josh Terry presents must-see live music shows from indie rock to jazz, country, hip-hop and more.
Wednesday, Dec. 10 through Friday, Dec. 11:
Andrew Bird, Macie Stewart, Lia Kohl and Whitney Johnson Trio at Fourth Presbyterian Church. Tickets for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
What might be the best Chicago holiday tradition for live music is this talented songwriter’s intimate “Gezelligheid” shows at a historic church. These shows are nights three through five.
Thursday, Dec. 11 and Friday, Dec. 12:
Andrew Sa’s Lonesome Holiday at Hideout. Tickets for Thursday and Friday.
Chicago’s most impressive country crooner kicks off a Christmas residency in Bucktown. These are the first two shows of a four-night residency.
Friday, Dec. 12:
Liam Kazar, V.V. Lightbody at Lincoln Hall. Tickets.
A Chicago folk-rocker celebrates his joyful new album “Pilot Light.”
Teethe, Villagerrr, Joyer at Schubas. Tickets.
The Texas headliners make a particularly dreamy brand of indie rock, but get there early for the two openers.
Saturday, Dec. 13:
Billie Marten, Nuria Graham at Thalia Hall. Tickets.
The U.K. artist behind one of 2025’s most gorgeous folk albums comes to Pilsen with a phenomenal opening act.
Sunday, Dec. 14:
SML at Thalia Hall. Tickets.
An innovative Los Angeles jazz supergroup with several Chicagoans among its ranks plays two sets “in the round” at the Pilsen theater: one with its mainstay members and another with an expanded “XL” lineup.
Monday, Dec. 15:
Protomartyr, Accessory at Thalia Hall. Tickets.
The Detroit post-punks celebrate 10 years of their album “The Agent Intellect.”
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What’s your best advice for recent Chicagoans on how to deal with the cold weather?
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Email DailyChicagoan@wttw.com with your responses and your answers might be published.
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5:30 PM | 10:00 PM |
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Want more WTTW News content? Follow WTTW on Instagram to check in with us daily, go behind-the-scenes, and more. |
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Newsletter Producer: Josh Terry |
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