A federal grand jury subpoenaed each of the Chicago municipal employees and laborers pension funds in October to discern how these officials became eligible for bloated city pensions. more ›

Cook County government officials have one of the highest-paying pension programs in the state. more ›

Every Chicagoan is used to getting solicitations from candidates during election season. One letter Rahm Emanuel's campaign recently sent out though, has some city employees up in arms. The Sun-Times reports that Emanuel sent a personal letter to the homes of city employees and other households attempting to clarify the candidate's position on the pension crisis. Some recipients want to know how the Emanuel campaign got their information and if someone from City Hall could have leaked sensitive information. more ›

Last week the House voted to raise the retirement age to receive a full pension to 55 for police and fire departments. In conjunction with the House vote, the Illinois State Police was granted authority to offer severance packages to officers retiring before the end of the year. Rich Miller at Capitol Fax reports that anyone accepting the package will receive 6% cost of living raises for 2011 on their last day of work. more ›

The state House was in major "TCB" mode yesterday. In addition to approving the civil unions bill and allowing for a gas plant to be built on the Southeast side, they voted in favor of reforms to police and fire department pensions. By a 95-18 margin, the House voted to raise the retirement age to receive a full pension from 50 to 55; addresses the issue of giving end-of-career retirement bonuses that boost retirement benefits, but only for new hires; and limits payouts by setting a ceiling of $106,800 on which a person's pension can be based. more ›

Not only does Oak Brook’s crankiest resident hate libraries, he also has issues with police and firefighters. In a heated Village Board meeting, Constantine Xinos, enemy of library loving children everywhere, suggested the village fire one firefighter a month until an agreement was reached regarding pensions. Xinos stated “Firemen, like cops, are street people. They only understand civilized force. That’s what they understand. You fire ‘em!” Connie, hoping that pressure from family would cause firefighters to back down, continued (while presumably twisting an evil looking mustache): “Maybe they'll sue us. Maybe they'll win something three years from now. She'll leave him. He'll be out of the house. The dog will be dead and the kids will be out on the streets.” more ›

After announcing that he's holding the line on property tax hikes and giving Chicagoans an "abatement" by raising the property tax below the full amount allowed, Mayor Daley expounded on the fundamental unfairness of excluding city teachers from the state pensions system. “We pay a double-tax. The pension is picked up by state government for all teachers outside Chicago. As a taxpayer in Chicago, you pay a tax there. Then, you pay another tax because the state excludes Chicago teachers. So, you’re paying two pension taxes: one for the state and one for the city,” Daley said Wednesday. “We’re the only, only local government doing that in the whole state. That puts a huge burden upon the school system. ... You’re paying two taxes. This is really unfair and we have to do something about it immediately.” more ›

One last, self-indulgent note before we bow out for the day. Chicagoist went live on May 10, 2004 featuring a design you can see above (via the Wayback Machine). Since then, we've had ups and downs but it's been one hell of a ride. Five years is an eternity in internet time, so thanks to Jen, Jake and all our benefactors in NYC, thanks to Rachelle and Margaret for getting the ball rolling here, thanks to every single writer who has posted - past and present - for your hard work, and last but most importantly, thanks to all of you readers who keep coming back every day. We hope to see you tomorrow night at our celebration, and we'll see you back here next week as we start the next five years. - M.G. more ›

The Cook County budget showdown is gearing up as county President Todd Stroger is expected to unveil his 2009 budget proposal today. Stroger has already put pressure on Cook County commissioners to approve a plan to borrow $720 million. The Stroger administration argues that the money is needed in order to keep the county afloat. Donna Dunnings, the county’s chief financial officer and Stroger’s cousin, told the Trib yesterday that massive layoffs are in store if the plan is rejected. more ›