In that ruling affirming the May 2022 decision by Kane County Circuit Court Judge Robert K. Villa that the law creating the consolidated funds was not unconstitutional under the Illinois Constitution's pension and takings clauses, the Appellate Court of Illinois, Second District in Elgin, said "while plaintiffs have a constitutional right to receive pension benefits … they have no right to the investments held by the funds; rather, they are entitled only to present or future payments from the funds."
The February 2021 lawsuit filed in Kane County by the boards of 16 municipal police pension funds and two firefighters pension funds, along with some participants from each fund, alleged the law had violated Illinois Constitution clauses by terminating "plaintiffs' authority to exclusively manage and control their investment expenditures and income," according to the original court filing.
The lawsuit against Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, the consolidated police and fire pension fund boards and others, was in response to Mr. Pritzker signing a law in December 2019 consolidating municipal police and fire pension plans outside the city of Chicago into the two new consolidated pension investment funds.
The Illinois constitution's pension clause says "membership in any pension or retirement system of the state, any unit of local government, or any agency or instrumentality thereof, shall be an enforceable contractual relationship, the benefits of which shall not be diminished or impaired."
Plaintiffs argued that the pension clause defined "benefits" as more than the monetary benefit retirees and beneficiaries received, but also included board voting rights.
Brad Cole, chairman of the board of the Illinois Firefighters' Pension Investment Board, said at its meeting on Friday that the board will "continue in its defense" of the law.
The Illinois Police Officers' Pension Investment Fund said in a statement emailed by a spokeswoman that, "As we await the Supreme Court's decision, the IPOPIF team will remain a transparent, trusted and financially responsible steward of the pension assets entrusted to our care and we will diligently serve all our stakeholders."
Mr. Cole in the IFPIF board meeting said he does not expect any further action by the court before the end of the calendar year.
Amanda J. Hamilton of Konicek & Dillon, attorney for the plaintiffs, could not be immediately reached for comment.