By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – Now that police and fire unions are on board a pension consolidation bill, Illinois cities have jumped off. 

The bill, which has passed a House committee, would combine more than 600 downstate funds into … two. But what’s described as a midnight addition to the bill is an amendment the Illinois Municipal League says could be costly. 

Deputy Gov. Dan Hynes, speaking to the committee Tuesday, described the bill as “an important first step in overcoming the decades of financial underperformance and inefficiency that have put pension systems throughout the state at the heart of cities’ fiscal challenges and is a prime driver in the burden of property taxes that homeowners around the state are struggling to meet.”

The idea, pushed by the IML and Gov. JB Pritzker, purports to save money by having only two sets of managers and administrators, rather than more than 600.

But a new amendment restricting cities’ ability to be a check on disability claims cost the current version of the bill IML’s support. The league’s executive director, Brad Cole, said, “If the words a third party, including can be taken out of two sections of this bill, we go back to having the agreed bill that we had on Saturday. This would be a great day for Illinois government, because it would be a great day for the taxpayer.”

The sponsor, State Rep. Jay Hoffman (D-Swansea), said he would work with the IML and attempt to get the legislation back to agreed-bill status.

The legislature’s fall veto session ends Thursday.

SB 1300 has passed the House Personnel and Pensions Committee.

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected].