Food – 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 Soybean tariffs threaten Illinois farmers again

U.S. Census Bureau

Photo from U.S. Census Bureau.

Soybean tariffs threaten Illinois farmers again

Post author:Henry Young / For CU-CitizenAccess and CU-CitizenAccess.org
Post published:June 3, 2025
Post category:Agriculture Food Government Public Funds

Soybeans are America’s largest agricultural export, averaging over $28 billion in export value annually over the last three years. Illinois was the largest soybean-producing…

Read more about the article Built on Soul: How Neil St. Blues Became a Cornerstone of Downtown Champaign

Rachel Johnson

Gayle Starks and her family run Neil St. Blues at 301 N. Neil St. in downtown Champaign. Photo by Rachel Johnson.

Built on Soul: How Neil St. Blues Became a Cornerstone of Downtown Champaign

Post author:Rachel Johnson / For CU-CitizenAccess
Post published:May 14, 2025
Post category:Business Community Voices Food

A family-run restaurant’s journey through community, culture, and economic resilience. Inside Neil St. Blues, warm golden light reflects off a polished concrete floor and…

Read more about the article Kitchens reopen at Champaign assisted living facility seven weeks after failed health inspection

CU-CitizenAccess.org

Bickford of Champaign at 1002 S. Staley Rd on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024.

Kitchens reopen at Champaign assisted living facility seven weeks after failed health inspection

Post author:Megan Krok / For CU-CitizenAccess
Post published:October 25, 2024
Post category:Elderly Watch Food Public Health

Kitchens at the assisted living facility Bickford of Champaign have reopened about seven weeks after receiving a red placard and failing its health inspection…

Puerta Del Sol in Rantoul. Screenshot from Google Street View.

These Champaign County restaurants failed health inspections in 2023

Post author:CU-CitizenAccess.org
Post published:January 10, 2024
Post category:Food Public Health

Last year, as of late November, 10 restaurants in Champaign County were closed and received a red placard because of failed health inspections. But…

Read more about the article Health inspectors failed about 80 restaurants and closed 10 last year in Champaign County; Some restaurants repeatedly failed for weeks

Ambar India on Nov. 13, 2023. Photo by Maggie Knutte.

Health inspectors failed about 80 restaurants and closed 10 last year in Champaign County; Some restaurants repeatedly failed for weeks

Post author:Maggie Knutte / For CU-CitizenAccess
Post published:January 10, 2024
Post category:Business Food Public Health

A moldy bell pepper. Bare hands touching ready-to-eat food. Food that expired over a week ago sitting in the fridge. These are just a…

Read more about the article University of Illinois campus food pantries help struggling students, tackle stigma; Groceries often more expensive on campus

Bevier Cafe, at 905 S Goodwin Avenue in Urbana, runs the Everybody Eats program.

University of Illinois campus food pantries help struggling students, tackle stigma; Groceries often more expensive on campus

Post author:Anulika Ochuba / For CU-CitizenAccess
Post published:December 19, 2023
Post category:Food Neighborhoods

With grocery costs notably greater in the heart of campus, two University of Illinois programs are dedicated to providing food assistance to students in…

Champaign County sees increase in SNAP recipients over five years, adding thousands last year

Post author:Anulika Ochuba / For CU-CitizenAccess
Post published:November 28, 2023
Post category:Food Government Public Funds

Over the last five years, the poverty rate in Champaign County has fallen, but the number of people seeking food assistance has steadily risen,…

Read more about the article Over 100 restaurants failed inspections in Champaign County in the past two years, but failures hard to find in online database

Ambar India on Wright Street in Urbana received a red placard in January 2021. Screenshot from Google Street View.

Over 100 restaurants failed inspections in Champaign County in the past two years, but failures hard to find in online database

Post author:Yashovardhan Maheshwari / For CU-CitizenAccess
Post published:May 12, 2023
Post category:Food Public Health

After a routine inspection, only 10 restaurants were closed due to non-compliance with safety regulations and 116 restaurants received food safety alerts for less…

KFC & A&W, 1321 N Dunlap Ave., Champaign The health department closed the restaurant Aug. 22 due to “gross unsanitary conditions” during its routine inspection. No details were provided in the report. On Thursday, November 29, 2018. photo by Darrell Hoemann/C-U Citizen Access

Restaurant closures, failures down under new restaurant health inspection system

Post author:Allison Silvestro / For CU-CitizenAccess
Post published:December 23, 2021
Post category:Food Government Public Health Technology

Since 2019, at least 63 Champaign-Urbana restaurants have failed and 19 have been temporarily closed down by public health officials under a new restaurant inspection system launched that year.

Read more about the article Food insecurity projected to soar in eastern Illinois and Champaign County

Eastern Illinois Foodbank

Eastern Illinois Foodbank provides a graphic to explain how food reaches those in need.

Food insecurity projected to soar in eastern Illinois and Champaign County

Post author:Casey Daly / For CU-CitizenAccess
Post published:December 7, 2020
Post category:CU-Covid19 Food

The nonprofit organization Feeding America has projected Champaign County’s food insecurity rate to increase by 31% by the end of 2020 in comparison to data collected in 2018. Feeding America is a nationwide network of more than 200 food banks that feed more than 46 million people through food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, and other community-based agencies.

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