Newsletter Archive

An alternative view of our Union and Pension Fund Let’s face it, this department runs on rumors.  The less concrete information the City or Local 2 puts out the more these rumors take up legs and start to walk and talk at the firehouse kitchen tables and morning roll...

Local 2 Brothers and Sisters. All Local 2 members in good standing should be receiving their ballot for the Local 2 Executive Board election this week.  I must admit, I am a little surprised that with all the recent issues facing the membership, this ballot looks...

For decades the Local 2 membership has had discussions on the effectiveness of giving money to politicians.  Critics contend that political contributions do not affect the outcome of any efforts put forth by Local 2 when securing salary, benefits and working...

Local 2 members, do you know what your pension is worth?  I say it is worth $3,333,772.  Obviously, it isn’t the same for everyone, it is a function of rank, time on the job and years of service.  Also, how long you live matters quite a bit.  If you get run over by a...

During the most recent campaign for pension fund trustee I was asked numerous times to counter some of the conflicting information between myself and the leadership of Local 2 who were supporting my opponent Tony Martin.  Specifically, I was asked - Did a theft...

When I first became a trustee seven years ago, I would occasionally have members ask me if they could take a refund of their contributions from the pension fund.  My answer was typically – “Don’t do it.  But if you want to, as long as you are under 50 you can have...

Brothers and Sisters, This year is the first year that the City has put into our pension fund what professional actuaries believe is an adequate amount of money to start properly funding our pension fund to secure our retirement benefits.  Finally, after decades of...

As a Chicago firefighter or paramedic, do you believe your public sector union dues, spent on political contributions, are beneficial to your long term financial security or your families’ well-being?  Do you know how much of your monthly union dues end up in the...

LEGAL THEFT AT OUR PENSION FUND Over the years, as your pension fund trustee, I have written newsletters in an attempt to counter who I call the City Apologists, those that try to discount or discredit any genuine concern for our pension fund’s integrity.  Many of...

There have been some interesting developments at our pension fund, so I thought I would focus this newsletter on the administration of the pension fund.  The most interesting development that I think members should be aware of is that the Board renewed our fiduciary...

I have been asked by members what I think of the City’s budget that passed the City Council in November.  As a trustee of our pension fund I like the budget because it finally levies enough property tax to start funding our pension benefits based on sound financial...

A short time after the recent Local 2 general election, the Secretary-Treasurer “published” the annual financial statements of our Union as required in the by-laws.  I really don’t think putting them on the website buried under a bunch of other, less relevant...

A month ago I published a chart that illustrated the revenue sources for a typical public pension.  That chart alone, published by the National Association of State Retirement Administrators (NASRA), does not provide a good picture of where our pension fund stands.  ...

As many of you know, or at least should know, the health and security of our pension fund is dependent on a successful launch of a Chicago casino.  Traditionally, the City funded their portion of our retirement security through property taxes; however, because that...

There was some spirited debate last month about the effectiveness and relevance of Local 2 participating in the political process through campaign contributions.  Clear lines were drawn between the membership that think it is effective and those that do not.  It was...

You may have received an email from Local 2 President Jim Tracy stating my last pension newsletter was defamatory towards pension fund trustee Tony Martin;  I disagree.  Tony Martin refused to follow the pension Board’s specific direction to describe the Illinois...

At the May 2019 Pension Board meeting there was a spirited debate amongst the trustees concerning the publication of the Secretary’s April letter.  Traditionally, the Secretary’s letter is published to communicate issues that the Board is facing or discussing.  Many...