City Treasurer Kurt Summers Expects Springfield To Act On Pensions
(CBS) -- One of the key players in any Chicago pension reforms says he expects some significant moves from Springfield in the coming weeks, regardless of how the State Supreme Court rules on the existing pension deals, reports WBBM Political Editor Craig Dellimore.
City Treasurer Kurt Summers sits on all Chicago employee pension boards and he says any moves to deal with pension debt are going to emanate from Springfield, not just the expanded sales tax or a city-owned casino that Mayor Rahm Emanuel mentioned.
"There is going to be substantial movement in Springfield one way or another," Summers said. "Some of the ideas, we're not going to see this session. Period. Some of them we are but they are going to be a part of a larger structural change."
Summers says there's a bill nearing passage in Springfield that that would give Teachers Pension Funds their own tax levy. No, says Summers, that doesn't mean higher property taxes.
What it does mean, he says, is that school systems couldn't delay payments to their pension funds to pay for other things.
City Treasurer Kurt Summers is the guest on WBBM Newsradio's "At Issue" program this weekend, and you can download the full episode here.