Education – 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 DOGE reports cutting almost $50 million in grants for University of Illinois

Jessie Wang

The National Soybean Research Center at 1101 W Peabody Drive, where the Soybean Innovation Lab operates, on Feb. 11, 2025. Photo by Jessie Wang.

DOGE reports cutting almost $50 million in grants for University of Illinois

Post author:CU-CitizenAccess.org
Post published:May 29, 2025
Post category:Education Public Funds

Tens of millions in grant funding awarded to the University of Illinois System was listed among the federal funding cuts on the Department of…

Read more about the article Midwest universities seldom name fraternities involved in sexual assault reports

greekview.com

A map detailing the locations of fraternities affiliated with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign across Champaign provided by the Interfraternity Council.

Midwest universities seldom name fraternities involved in sexual assault reports

Post author:Mary Piacente / For CU-CitizenAccess
Post published:May 22, 2025
Post category:Education Government

Police at Midwest public universities seldom disclose the name of a fraternity where an alleged sexual assault is reported. Abbigail Kepp, communications director for…

Read more about the article Insect flight research at the University of Illinois among 32 targeted grants labeled DEI by Sen. Ted Cruz

Jessie Wang

Protestors gathered for a March For Science on April 22 at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Photo by Jessie Wang.

Insect flight research at the University of Illinois among 32 targeted grants labeled DEI by Sen. Ted Cruz

Post author:Jessie Wang / For CU-CitizenAccess
Post published:May 21, 2025
Post category:Education Government Public Funds

$66 million in 32 grants. This is the amount of federal grant funding the University of Illinois receives that was targeted as diversity, equity…

Read more about the article Four sexual assaults reported over past eight weeks at fraternities at University of Illinois; Police seldom name frats or locations

University of Illinois Blog

The University of Illinois Police Department operates from the Public Safety Building, 1110 W. Springfield Ave., Urbana.

Four sexual assaults reported over past eight weeks at fraternities at University of Illinois; Police seldom name frats or locations

Post author:Mary Piacente / For CU-CitizenAccess
Post published:April 11, 2025
Post category:Education Government Neighborhoods

On Feb. 20, an anonymous student at the University of Illinois arrived at Carle Hospital at 1 a.m. and requested a sexual assault kit. …

Read more about the article Driving disparities remain in University of Illinois traffic stops

Jordan Butler

Illinois Street and Lincoln Avenue intersection, located adjacent to the Illinois Street Residence Hall parking lot. Photo by Jordan Butler.

Driving disparities remain in University of Illinois traffic stops

Post author:Courtney Dillon / For CU-CitizenAccess, Molly Hughes / For CU-CitizenAccess and Dylan Tiger
Post published:March 27, 2025
Post category:Education Government Transportation

Driving while on the phone. Being pulled over without lights or sirens. Getting searched for incorrectly turning down a one-way. These are just some…

Read more about the article University of Illinois research already suffering from federal funding cuts and DOGE

Jessie Wang

A crowd at the Stand Up For Science demonstration on March 7, 2025, beside the University of Illinois's Alma Mater statue. Photo by Jessie Wang.

University of Illinois research already suffering from federal funding cuts and DOGE

Post author:Jessie Wang / For CU-CitizenAccess
Post published:March 14, 2025
Post category:Education Government Public Funds

Wendy Dorman is the recipient of a NASA early career researcher grant to create a detailed grasslands map in Illinois to improve wildlife, agricultural…

Read more about the article Champaign County Head Start programs still funded amidst national concern of budget cuts

Darrell Hoemann

Brookens Admin Center in Urbana, IL 61801 on Wednesday, December 15, 2021. Photo by Darrell Hoemann/CU-CitizenAccess

Champaign County Head Start programs still funded amidst national concern of budget cuts

Post author:Mallory Miller / For CU-CitizenAccess
Post published:March 6, 2025
Post category:Education Government Public Funds

Head Start, an early childhood education program, hosts about 500 students a year with a budget of at least $9.1 million in federal funding…

Read more about the article Concerns rise at University of Illinois over $1.5 billion in annual federal funding; cutbacks leading to layoffs and program closure

Jessie Wang

The National Soybean Research Center at 1101 W Peabody Drive, where the Soybean Innovation Lab operates, on Feb. 11, 2025. Photo by Jessie Wang.

Concerns rise at University of Illinois over $1.5 billion in annual federal funding; cutbacks leading to layoffs and program closure

Post author:Jenny Lin / For CU-CitizenAccess, Jessie Wang / For CU-CitizenAccess and CU-CitizenAccess.org
Post published:February 13, 2025
Post category:Education Government Public Funds

Last week, Peter Goldsmith, the executive director of the Soybean Innovation Lab, announced the lab will shut down in April as the U.S. Agency…

Read more about the article Test scores slightly improve for Unit 4 school district, but lag behind rest of Illinois

Google Street View

Garden Hills Academy in Champaign. Screenshot from Google Street View, captured 2023.

Test scores slightly improve for Unit 4 school district, but lag behind rest of Illinois

Post author:Vicky Olaleye / For CU-CitizenAccess
Post published:December 22, 2024
Post category:Education Government Neighborhoods

Across grades three through eight in the Champaign Unit 4 School District, 70.7% of students did not meet state standards under a standardized assessment…

Read more about the article Seven intentional fires set in residence halls in past three school years

Humza Qazi

Photo depicting Wassaja Hall, within which an intentional fire where a carpet in a residential lounge space was found to have been burnt took place in 2023. Photo by Humza Qazi.

Seven intentional fires set in residence halls in past three school years

Post author:Humza Qazi / For CU-CitizenAccess
Post published:December 19, 2024
Post category:Education Housing Neighborhoods

A melted toilet seat in Oglesby Hall. A smoldered cork board in Allen Hall. A burnt carpet in Wassaja Hall. These are just some…

1
2
3
4
…
9
Go to the next page