The dialogue surrounding Evanston’s $159 million pension shortfall affecting city firefighters and police officers is gaining another voice-a blog.
The objective of the blog is to explain the origins of the crisis and how it will eventually be solved. Attorneys Dan Tobben, who successfully represented the St. Louis firefighters in their suit for pension payment, and David Binder started posting on the issue Monday.
“What we’re trying to do is raise the issue and encourage public discussion,” said Tobben, a partner at Danna McKitrick in Clayton, Mo. “Evanston needs to solve their problems one way or another, and this discussion hopefully will help them see that.”
The fire and police departments use the pension fund to give disability and retirement benefits to employees. Under state law, the City of Evanston has until 2033 to settle the debt.
Currently, retired police officers and firefighters are receiving benefits, but the money will run out eventually without a dramatic change, Tobben said. It’s especially important because people in those departments don’t receive Social Security, he said.
“Everything is riding on these pensions,” Tobben said. “To me, the idea that the city doesn’t honor its obligations to its police and firefighters, it’s kind of like if we as Americans don’t honor our obligations to our military.”
The pension fund has been underfunded for about 40 years, said Timothy Schoolmaster, president of the Police Pension Board.
In the first of five installments, the blog discusses the history of the decades-long issue.
“It’s a great thing,” Schoolmaster said about the blog. “This is the big elephant in the room that most taxpayers don’t understand. They don’t understand how we got there, they don’t understand why this is and they don’t understand how to get out of it.”
Tobben and Binder said they plan to explore solutions in the next four installments, with one coming out every Monday and Thursday for the next two weeks. The blog can be found online at dannamckitrick.com/protecting-public-pensions/.
