Jeanne Ives, former state Representative and founder of Breakthrough Ideas, said Chicago’s split pension payments indicate severe cash shortages that could lead to public sector job cuts to maintain high retirement benefits for former employees.
“Read between the lines – Chicago is bankrupt,” said Ives. “Only a matter of time before the layoffs start, all to pay hefty pensions of people who retired years ago with $100k+ pensions. Public Employees- your pension, your job, your home – you can’t have all three.”
According to Ives, she posted on X about the fiscal challenges facing Chicago, referencing a Bloomberg report on the city’s financial strain. She warned that public sector layoffs might be imminent as the city struggles to fund substantial pensions for retirees. Ives further noted that increasing obligations are forcing public employees to make difficult decisions regarding pensions, jobs, and housing.
Chicago’s pension systems are among the most underfunded in the United States, with unfunded debt exceeding that of 44 states in 2024. Recent legislation has added $11 billion in new liabilities to police and fire pensions, reducing their funding ratio to approximately 18 percent. The city resorted to using reserves to cover $28 million in fire pension payments, thereby avoiding asset sales.
Public pension systems across the country reported $1.48 trillion in unfunded liabilities in 2024, a decrease from $1.62 trillion the previous year due to strong investment returns. State plans account for the majority at $1.29 trillion, while local governments hold $187 billion. The national average funded ratio improved to 80.2 percent but remains below resilient levels.
Ives was born on October 4, 1964, in Vermillion, South Dakota. She graduated from the United States Military Academy with a Bachelor of Science degree and served as an officer in the United States Army from 1987 to 1993. Ives represented Illinois’s 42nd district in the House from 2013 to 2019 as a Republican and ran in both the 2018 gubernatorial primary and the 2020 congressional election.
