Chicago Schools’ $630 Million Pension Payment Comes Due; Emanuel Still Weighing Options

The Chicago Public Schools’ (CPS) $634 million pension payment is due to be paid today (Tuesday, June 30), and with no help coming from state lawmakers, Mayor Rahm Emanuel is still weighing his options.

From the Chicago Tribune:

As of late Monday, Emanuel’s office did not expect lawmakers to approve any sort of relief for the pension payment Tuesday, said a top administration official who was not authorized to speak publicly.

A team of City Hall aides had started turning its attention toward what to do about the pension payment if no remedy is passed in Springfield. The Emanuel administration source said the mayor had directed his team to develop scenarios ranging from making the full pension payment, to not making any payment at all, to developing a payment plan.

[…]

House lawmakers were poised to consider a plan that would push off the CPS pension payment until Aug. 10 — a measure that fell 18 votes shy of passage a week ago. Despite powerful House Speaker Michael Madigan’s plan to seek another vote, it was unclear whether the votes were there to pass it.

Emanuel turned down Gov. Rauner’s pension proposal last week.

We’ll know by the end of the day what course the Emanuel administration has decided to take on the payment.

Photo by bitsorf via Flickr CC License