HR0737LRB097 17329 EFG 62530 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The Illinois public pension systems are estimated
3to have an unfunded liability of $80 billion, and the State's
4contribution to those systems is expected to be $22 billion in
5fiscal year 2045; and
 
6    WHEREAS, The Pew Center issued a study on state pensions,
7titled "The Trillion Dollar Gap", which reported that Illinois
8has the worst-funded pension systems in the nation; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Over the years, the Illinois pension systems have
10used questionable accounting and investment practices; and
 
11    WHEREAS, The State of Illinois is facing an unprecedented
12funding shortfall in all of its pension systems and is commonly
13considered to have the worst-funded public pension systems
14among the 50 states; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Federal corruption charges leading to the
16conviction of former Governor Rod Blagojevich and his political
17associates included official actions pertaining to the
18Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois; and
 
19    WHEREAS, State law provides limits on Freedom of
20Information Act requests for pension data that limit the

 

 

HR0737- 2 -LRB097 17329 EFG 62530 r

1transparency of the pension systems of the State of Illinois;
2and
 
3    WHEREAS, It was recently made public that the U.S.
4Securities and Exchange Commission has opened an inquiry into
5the reporting of potential pension reform savings by the
6pension systems; and
 
7    WHEREAS, The inquiry has raised questions about investment
8decisions, investment returns, and accounting techniques that
9warrant an audit of the pension systems; therefore, be it
 
10    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
11NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
12we urge the Commission on Government Forecasting and
13Accountability to competitively bid for an auditing firm to
14conduct an audit of the State Employee's Retirement System of
15Illinois, the Judges Retirement System of Illinois, the General
16Assembly Retirement System, the State Universities Retirement
17System, and the Teachers' Retirement System of the State of
18Illinois; and be it further
 
19    RESOLVED, That the firm shall look into all processes of
20the systems, including examining contracts awarded, investment
21decisions, investment returns, investment fees, trading
22commissions, accounting techniques, and any other processes

 

 

HR0737- 3 -LRB097 17329 EFG 62530 r

1related to the management of the funds; and be it further
 
2    RESOLVED, That the Commission on Government Forecasting
3and Accountability report within one year after the adoption of
4this resolution to the General Assembly and Governor, and
5publish on its website, all findings, including
6recommendations on how each system can improve efficiency and
7any finding of suspected corruption; and be it further
 
8    RESOLVED, That the pension systems involved fully
9cooperate and turn over any materials requested by the auditing
10firm; and be it further
 
11    RESOLVED, That the Commission on Government Forecasting
12and Accountability begin the process of selecting an auditing
13firm as soon as possible after the adoption of this resolution
14so that an initial discovery audit will be made available
15within 2 months to the Commission on Government Forecasting and
16Accountability and the public; and be it further
 
17    RESOLVED, That the Commission on Government Forecasting
18and Accountability report quarterly on the fiscal condition of
19the pension systems, in particular: the current funding ratio,
20as projected with and without the use of 5-year asset
21smoothing; balance of assets; cash on hand; and projected
22liabilities; and be it further
 

 

 

HR0737- 4 -LRB097 17329 EFG 62530 r

1    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
2delivered to the Executive Director of the Commission on
3Government Forecasting and Accountability, as well as to the
4State Employees' Retirement System of Illinois, the Judges
5Retirement System of Illinois, the General Assembly Retirement
6System, the State Universities Retirement System, and the
7Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois.