The Chicago Tribune reports:
The debt from 10 Chicago-area pension plans swelled more than 600 percent to $27.4 billion between 2001 and 2010, according to a study released Monday by the nonpartisan Civic Federation. That's $8,993 for each man, woman and child in Chicago, according to the report.
The shortfall comes on top of more than $83 billion in unfunded pension liabilities at the state level, driving the cost up to nearly $15,000 per Chicagoan, the report shows.
"While they're debating what to do about the state funds, these local funds are continuing to decline," said Laurence Msall, Civic Federation president. "Inaction during the past 10 years means it's not just politically more difficult to fix this problem but also mathematically more difficult."
Great moments of the Cook County Democrat party. Just in case you didn't know who's been in control. Just a reminder, insolvency is near for Chicago's retired police and firefighters:
The firefighters fund has the lowest funding ratio of any local pension plan, with just 32.4 percent of the assets it needs to cover its liabilities. The figure for the police plan is 39.7 percent.
