September 2014 – CU-CitizenAccess.org

In order to understand why Champaign is doing so well with their pensions compared to
other Illinois cities and the state itself, we’re going to go through a little crash course about
pensions.
A pension is the benefits paid to employees after they retire, usually a predetermined
amount of money given out each month. The pension is paid out from a pension fund, which is
the pool of money that is used to pay out participating employees’ pensions. The amount of
money within the pension fund is sometimes referred to as the plan fiduciary net position.
Pension funds gain money through employee contributions (the money employees put
into the pension fund), employer contributions (the money employers put into the pension fund),
and investment returns (the money gained from the investing of pensions funds). They generally
lose money through finally paying out an employee’s pension, investment losses, and
administrative upkeep.

Two of the most important concepts when it comes to pensions are total liability and
unfunded liability. Total liability includes the previous costs associated with pensions, but also a
calculation of future costs the pension fund will have to pay for eventually, aka what they will
have to pay when all their employees retire. Employees’ average lifespans, disability rates,
spousal lifespans, etc. are used to calculate what is the most likely amount of money the pension
fund will need o have in order to pay all their employees pensions throughout their lifespan.
As employees pension benefits increase and new employees are hired, the total liability
may become larger than the amount of money the pension fund currently has. This difference
between total liability and available money in the pension fund is called unfunded liability.
Unfunded liability is not due to be paid at the time it is taken on, but there is also no
money to pay for it when it is taken on. Therefore, it is a future payment that is promised to be
paid for later or in parts over time, similar to a loan.
For example, a city establishes a fire department in 1990 with 10 firefighters that when
they retire will receive $10,000 annually. Originally, it was assumed they would collect pension
for 20 years, so the pension fund aimed to have $2,000,000 for the firefighters’ retirement. By
2000, they have the $2,000,000 in plan fiduciary net position, but at this time the state decides
that retired firefighters will receive $15,000 per year instead, and the average lifespan
assumption has increased by 5 years. The pension fund’s total liability has grown from
$2,000,000 to $3,750,000, nearly doubling their original total liability. On top of that,
investments have not returned as much as expected and the city only puts in enough money to
cover administrative costs, so the plan fiduciary net position remained unchanged. While its
$2,000,000 was originally enough to fully fund all the firefighters’ pensions, now it is only
enough to fund 53% of their pensions. There are always a lot more moving funds and

calculations involved in real life examples, but this simple example sums up what has been
happening with many Illinois city pensions.

Read more about the article A University of Illinois student finds peace in Kharma

Emma Weissmann

Hailey Anderson, a University of Illinois student, rides her horse, Kharma. Spring 2014.

A University of Illinois student finds peace in Kharma

Post author:CU-CitizenAccess.org
Post published:September 24, 2014
Post category:Blog Full Page Feaure Neighborhoods

Most students choose to spend their off hours studying, hanging out with friends or catching up on sleep. But Hailey Anderson, a senior physics student at the University of Illinois, spends her free time in a different way: caring for her pet, Kharma.

Read more about the article Farming among the country’s deadliest jobs

Don McMasters/for The Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting

Firefighters practice placing a rescue tube during grain bin rescue training at the Danville Bunge facility on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2013.

Farming among the country’s deadliest jobs

Post author:CU-CitizenAccess.org
Post published:September 23, 2014
Post category:Agriculture Article

Farmers, ranchers and other agricultural managers ranked in the top 10 for highest fatality rates by occupation last year.

Additionally, the “agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting” industry category was – again – the country’s deadliest industry, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics findings released on Monday. The findings show that the broad agriculture industry category was nearly seven times deadlier than the typical job.

Read more about the article Champaign-Urbana Public Health District makes health inspection reports available online

Screenshot

The Champaign-Urbana Public Health District now allows site visitors to view restaurant inspection reports online. According to director of environmental health Jim Roberts, this new online feature went live on Monday, September 15, 2014.

Champaign-Urbana Public Health District makes health inspection reports available online

Post author:CU-CitizenAccess.org
Post published:September 18, 2014
Post category:Article Food Public Health

By Emma Weissmann/For CU-CitizenAccess.org -- After five years of trying to get restaurant inspection reports on their Web site, public health officials finally succeeded this month. The site — http://c-uphd.org/foodinspections.html — now delivers a wealth of information on the inspections, including the inspection history and scores for more than 1,000 food establishments. The health department opened the Web site earlier this month, but did not announce it until Thursday.

Two vacant lots have been turned into gardens and provide affordable produce to area residents. Spring 2014.

One community garden provides more than fruits and vegetables

Post author:CU-CitizenAccess.org
Post published:September 16, 2014
Post category:Agriculture Blog Full Page Feaure

By Karyna Rodriguez/For CU-CitizenAccess.org -- One person can make a difference. Nicole Bridges embodies that statement more than almost anyone I’ve ever met. Nicole…

Read more about the article County set to debate whether posting placards will harm restaurants

Darrell Hoemann/CU-CitizenAccess.org

Jim Roberts of the Champaign-Urbana Health District holds up a sample placard as county board members discussed whether restaurants in the county should be required to display inspection placards on August 21, 2014.

County set to debate whether posting placards will harm restaurants

Post author:CU-CitizenAccess.org
Post published:September 12, 2014
Post category:Article Food Public Health

By Claire Everett/CU-CitizenAccess.org -- Whether a restaurant in Champaign County should have to tell customers if it failed its health inspection is still up…

Read more about the article Growing up Asian in a white family; one adoptee’s struggle

Photo provided

Claire Hampton with her mother. Claire was born in Seoul, South Korea and came to the United States when she was four months old.

Growing up Asian in a white family; one adoptee’s struggle

Post author:CU-CitizenAccess.org
Post published:September 11, 2014
Post category:Blog Full Page Feaure Neighborhoods

By Earn Saenmuk/For CU-CitizenAccess.org -- There was a girl in my Korean class. Well, there were more than one, but this particular one was…

Read more about the article Government looks to counter SNAP recipient fraud

Robert Holly/Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is the country’s largest nutrition-support program, last year serving about 47 million Americans at a cost of about $76 billion.

Government looks to counter SNAP recipient fraud

Post author:CU-CitizenAccess.org
Post published:September 9, 2014
Post category:Article Poverty

By Robert Holly/Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting -- Champaign County has seen a 40 percent increase in the number of households on the federal…

Read more about the article Race makeup of local police staff mirror national trends

Darrell Hoemann/C-U Citizen Access

The window for the Urbana Police Department office inside the Urbana City Hall on Thursday, September 4, 2014. photo by Darrell Hoemann/C-U Citizen Access

Race makeup of local police staff mirror national trends

Post author:CU-CitizenAccess.org
Post published:September 5, 2014
Post category:Blog

The racial makeup of police departments across the country has grown to become a heated national issue after a white police officer shot and killed Michael Brown – an unarmed black teenager – in Ferguson, Mo., last month. An initial analysis by CU-CitizenAccess.org of local police staff numbers revealed a race gap mirrored in national and regional reports. The staff information was obtained through requests made under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act.

A small community of cyclists in Champaign-Urbana enjoying bike polo. Spring 2014.

Bike friendly Chambana draws new version of polo

Post author:CU-CitizenAccess.org
Post published:September 3, 2014
Post category:Blog Full Page Feaure

Champaign-Urbana is a biking town, and as an avid biker, that was something I noticed very quickly upon moving here. Bike lanes run all through both cities as well as campus. Shops like The Bike Co-op and Neutral Cycle provide local cyclists with affordable service and offer to teach people who come in how to maintain a bike themselves, while other stores deal with high-end, professional equipment. People get together to go on group rides.