All Week Long
Originally published on chicagotribune.com 06/12/23 | Photo: Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune
Following years of consternation about whether Cook County’s two main pension funds would fulfill its obligations to its 39,000 employees and retirees, county leaders are saying they are on track to reform.
A pair of moves within the past year has freed up access to more pools of cash to help shore up the county’s long-underfunded pensions, though fiscal experts say the county will have to be careful not to overcorrect and tie their hands on spending for other needs.
The two funds for Cook County and Forest Preserve employees and retirees were the only ones in Illinois not required to put in enough money to pay out promised benefits to annuitants in future years, known as actuarial funding. But officials say legislation for county employees that is awaiting Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s signature and another bill for forest preserve employees that went into effect June 1 are providing a road map.
Originally published on fox32chicago.com 06/08/23 | Photo: Fox32
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle highlighted local efforts that are being used to boost the economy at this year's Basic Income Guarantee Conference.
The event is being held in Chicago.
This year marks the 21st annual BIG Conference, which brings together grassroots activists, nonprofits and elected officials to collaborate on ways to combat poverty.
Chicago, Evanston and other communities across the state have implemented guarantee income programs and other direct cash initiatives since the onset of the COVID pandemic.
Preckwinkle says these ideas reach back decades, citing that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. first called for such programs back in 1967.
"He noted that among its myriad benefits included a host of positive psychological changes that would inevitably result from widespread economic security," said Preckwinkle. "Dr. King understood the transcendent power of a guaranteed income, not only to uplift a person's financial state but to uplift spirits and plans for the future."
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