Illinois House Votes to Consolidate Police, Fire Pension Funds; Wilhour Favors Measure, But Disapproves of the Method

The Illinois House of Representatives Wednesday gave approval to Senate Bill 1300, legislation to consolidate the 649 existing local police and fire pension funds.

The bill is intended to boost the financial security of the largely underfunded pension systems. Currently, each one is a separate fund with its own board of trustees and its own administrative staff, including investment managers.

State Representative Blaine Wilhour of Beecher City said while there are some things in the legislation that could be good for taxpayers and that he would vote for the measure, he was upset with the process and the way things work in Springfield. He wondered why if the goal was to consolidate the pension funds, why didn't the legislation simply address the consolidation and not involve other interests in the process?

The Effingham City Council discussed the possibility of the pension merger earlier this year and noted that their fire and police pension funds are in good shape. At that time, the thought was to maintain the status quo rather than support the consolidation.