Committee on Finance Chicago City Council Meeting September 21, 2022
RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, pushed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel and approved by the Illinois General Assembly, drastic cuts to the pension benefits earned by active and retired city of Chicago employees were signed into law by Governor Pat Quinn on June 9, 2014; and
WHEREAS, the City of Chicago fully discontinued subsidizing retiree healthcare of individuals too young to qualify for Medicare in 2017, attempting to shift the cost onto the Affordable Care Act, the new federal health care system created by then President Barack Obama; and,
WHEREAS, the basis for the health care coverage subsidy changes was the projected cost of $541 Million spent on eligible retirees not qualifying for federal health care coverage; and,
WHEREAS, in an effort towards transparency and reform, City of Chicago residents should be given an update on cuts made to retiree health care and pension benefits, including how much has been saved, and where those excess funds have been diverted; and
WHEREAS, there has been a sufficient time has passed since the discontinuance of healthcare coverage subsidy for retirees between the ages 55 thru 64 years of age for objective and qualitative policy analysis by the City of Chicago's Financial teams and corresponding legislative bodies; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF CITY OF CHICAGO, that we, the Members of the City Council of Chicago, call upon the Committee on Finance to convene a public hearing to examine the financial impact of those healthcare coverage subsidy changes, that the Committee on Finance receive testimony from retirees on the financial impact and lasting effects of this eliminated benefit, and discuss feasibility of reinstating the subsidy.