Leo Kolivakis is a blogger, trader and independent senior pension and investment analyst. This post was originally published at Pension Pulse. Hal Dardick of the Chicago Tribune reports, Mayor floats plan to fix city’s smallest pension fund: Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Monday floated a new idea to fix the city’s smallest government worker pension system, one … Continue reading Chicago’s Pension Patch Job?
Leo Kolivakis is a blogger, trader and independent senior pension and investment analyst. This post was originally published at Pension Pulse. Elliot Blair Smith of MarketWatch reports, How the Teamsters pension disappeared more quickly under Wall Street than the mob: Real estate investments in Las Vegas casinos and hotels once threatened the integrity of a Teamsters … Continue reading Pension Pulse: On Pensions and the Wall Street Mob?
Last year, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel ordered a three-year phase-out of a subsidy the city gives retirees to help pay for healthcare. But a circuit court judge over the weekend ruled that certain retirees’ healthcare coverage is protected by the Illinois Constitution’s pension protection clause. From the Chicago Sun-Times: A Cook County court judge has … Continue reading Circuit Court Throws Wrench in Chicago Retiree Cuts
An Illinois union and several workers last week filed a lawsuit challenging the legality of a 2014 pension law that altered benefits for Chicago Park District employees. The 2014 law increased contributions required from workers and the state, lowered cost-of-living adjustments and raised retirement ages. All of those elements, the lawsuit contends, represent a violation … Continue reading Another Chicago Pension Law Goes to Court
Chicago’s recent pension overhaul law – struck down this summer by a lower court – is bound for the state Supreme Court sometime this fall. With the hearing looming, two of the high court’s justices have disclosed conflicts of interest with the lawsuit; one justice has already recused himself from the hearing, but the other … Continue reading As Chicago Pension Reforms Head to Supreme Court, Two Justices Face Conflicts of Interest
Leo Kolivakis is a blogger, trader and independent senior pension and investment analyst. This post was originally published at Pension Pulse. Matthew Cunningham-Cook of the International Business Times reports, At Chicago Pension Fund, Questions Raised On Conflicts of Interest: Chicago pension officials wanted to know where to deposit the $11 billion that the city’s teachers had … Continue reading Chicago’s Pension Conflicts?
The Chicago Public School system has until June 30 to make a $634 million contribution to the Chicago Teachers Pension Fund. But the city is pushing the pension fund to help out cash-strapped CPS by accepting a much smaller payment – potentially as low as $200 million. There’s a lot at stake, including CPS’ bond … Continue reading Chicago Pushing Teachers’ Pension to Accept Partial Contribution As Deadline Nears
Chicago unions and public employees filed a lawsuit Tuesday to block pension changes coming in 2015 that would reduce future COLA increases and require workers to pay more toward their retirement. From the International Business Times: The law in question is scheduled to take effect in the new year and will slash pension benefits for … Continue reading Unions Sue Over Chicago Pension Cuts
In July, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that subsidized health care premiums for state retirees were protected under the Illinois Constitution. But Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel challenged that ruling Friday when he increased health insurance premiums for city retirees by 40 percent. The move is part of an ongoing effort to decrease the numerous retirement-related … Continue reading Chicago’s Emanuel Raises Retiree Health Premiums By 40 Percent
Credit rating agency S&P has downgraded New Jersey’s credit rating by one step, to A. The downgrade comes just 5 days after Fitch downgraded the state’s rating. Notably, the state has been downgraded eight times under Chris Christie, the most under any governor in the state’s history. Reported by Bloomberg: The reduction to A, the … Continue reading New Jersey Credit Rating Cut By S&P; Record 8th Downgrade Under Christie
