Marseilles Police Pension Fund places 530th for lowest pension funding ratio in Illinois in 2024

Ann Gillespie, Director at Illinois Department of Insurance
Ann Gillespie, Director at Illinois Department of Insurance
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According to the Illinois Department of Insurance (IDOI), the Marseilles Police Pension Fund was the 530th lowest funded among the state’s police and fire pension plans in 2024.

As part of Illinois’ City pension system structure, the fund reported total pension liabilities of $7,047,569 and an actuarial asset value of $6,242,762.

This equates to a funding ratio of 88.6%, meaning the fund had 11.4% fewer actuarial assets than needed for all promised retirement payments.

The resulting gap led to an unfunded liability of approximately $804,807 for the pension system.

The Illinois Department of Insurance compiles and releases statistics on municipal police and fire pensions, which rely on funding from the residents of each relevant municipality.

In 2024, Illinois managed 300 fire and 363 police pension funds, with some local governments running both types and others operating only one.

Sixty-four municipalities reported no outstanding police or fire pension liabilities in 2024 and were not included in funding ratio rankings.

Pension obligations for police and fire agencies, known as “pension benefits,” serve as compensation earned now and paid out after retirement. Although municipal leaders pledge these benefits to public safety workers, funding can fall short if not matched by sufficient contributions from workers or taxpayers. These shortfalls accumulate, creating pension debt for municipalities that usually must be repaid by future residents. Annual contributions, largely from property taxes, are used to support these pension systems, with data tracked by the IDOI.

In 2024, police and fire pensions across Illinois averaged a 65.1% funding ratio, revealing that local governments often face gaps in covering retirement benefits for police and firefighters.

The Glencoe Firefighters Pension Fund reported the lowest funding ratio in the state at 0.9%.

By contrast, the Savoy Firefighters Pension Fund ranked highest statewide, achieving a funding ratio of 797.7% and reporting an actuarial funding value of $149,803—substantially above its obligations.

Illinois’ total state pension debt grew by $1.5 billion in 2024, reaching $143.7 billion, according to the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability. This represented the third year in a row pension debt has increased, approaching its recent high of $144.2 billion recorded in 2020.

A report from the Public Pension Division of the State Department of Insurance found that Illinois’ suburban and downstate pension plans had $12.1 billion in unfunded actuarial liabilities in 2024, as their combined funding ratio was 49.18%. These systems held less than half the assets needed for their benefit commitments.

For 2024, Illinois had the nation’s largest proportion of state GDP dedicated to unfunded pension liabilities, approaching 20%, based on a study by the Equable Institute.

The Illinois Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank, indicates that this burden is increasingly affecting taxpayers. The institute stated state pension contributions from taxpayers increased from $614 million in fiscal 1996 to $11.2 billion in fiscal 2025.

Top 100 Most Underfunded Illinois Police and Fire Pension Funds (FY 2024)

Rank Pension Fund City Fund Type Funding % Unfunded Liability Total Liabilities
1 Glencoe Firefighters Pension Fund Glencoe Village or Township 0.9% $178,203 $179,832
2 South Chicago Heights Firefighters Pension Fund South Chicago Heights Village or Township 2.8% $491,701 $505,700
3 Bethany Firefighters Pension Fund Bethany Village or Township 3.9% $250,130 $260,252
4 Posen Firefighters Pension Fund Posen Village or Township 6.8% $1,013,154 $1,086,589
5 Nunda Rural FPD Firefighters Pension Fund Crystal Lake Fire Protection District 8% $155,069 $168,587
6 East St. Louis Firefighters Pension Fund East St. Louis City 9.5% $60,376,247 $66,732,525
7 Cairo Firefighters Pension Fund Cairo City 10.9% $4,757,521 $5,338,526
8 Riverdale Police Pension Fund Riverdale Village or Township 14.9% $45,058,163 $52,928,748
9 Washington Park Police Pension Fund Caseyville Village or Township 17.3% $2,295,422 $2,775,919
10 Lynwood Police Pension Fund Lynwood Village or Township 17.5% $13,417,550 $16,254,380
11 Stone Park Police Pension Fund Stone Park City 21.4% $17,485,225 $22,232,105
12 Harvey Firefighters Pension Fund Harvey City 22% $43,143,298 $55,313,475
13 Cairo Police Pension Fund Cairo Village or Township 23.8% $3,594,155 $4,716,195
14 Lincoln Firefighters Pension Fund Lincoln City 24.3% $17,964,106 $23,728,200
15 Burnham Police Pension Fund Burnham Village or Township 25.8% $7,033,692 $9,481,825
16 East Alton Police Pension Fund East Alton Village or Township 29% $7,752,199 $10,913,295
16 Danville Firefighters Pension Fund Danville City 29% $56,012,714 $78,905,481
18 North Chicago Police Pension Fund North Chicago City 29.2% $48,425,528 $68,354,735
19 Lyons Police Pension Fund Lyons Village or Township 30.6% $23,697,686 $34,165,503
20 Braidwood FPD Firefighters Pension Fund Braidwood Fire Protection District 32% $316,114 $464,595
21 Summit Police Pension Fund Summit City 32.6% $29,528,504 $43,781,677
22 Evergreen Park Firefighters Pension Fund Evergreen Park Village or Township 32.7% $2,456,722 $3,650,796
23 Blue Island Firefighters Pension Fund Blue Island City 33.1% $18,491,894 $27,630,414
24 Sauk Village Police Pension Fund Sauk Village Village or Township 34.9% $12,186,385 $18,729,752
25 Rock Island Firefighters Pension Fund Rock Island City 35% $57,571,195 $88,569,214
26 Wood Dale FPD Firefighters Pension Fund Wood Dale City 35.1% $32,350,412 $49,829,895
27 East Alton Firefighters Pension Fund East Alton Village or Township 35.5% $4,448,576 $6,899,172
28 Island Lake Police Pension Fund Island Lake Village or Township 36.8% $6,468,832 $10,231,984
29 Danville Police Pension Fund Danville City 36.9% $50,909,230 $80,729,515
30 Madison Police Pension Fund Madison City 37.1% $7,796,590 $12,403,202
31 Lincoln Police Pension Fund Lincoln City 37.3% $18,839,226 $30,062,677
32 Fairfield Police Pension Fund Fairfield City 38% $5,894,772 $9,500,767
33 Lansing Police Pension Fund Lansing Village or Township 38.8% $69,901,857 $114,240,820
34 Roberts Park FPD Firefighters Pension Fund Justice Fire Protection District 39% $17,530,740 $28,746,543
35 Forest Park Firefighters Pension Fund Forest Park Village or Township 39.2% $27,473,776 $45,186,356
36 Chicago Heights Firefighters Pension Fund Chicago Heights City 39.3% $62,391,745 $102,720,418
37 Rock Island Police Pension Fund Rock Island City 39.7% $73,031,157 $121,052,017
37 Orland Hills Police Pension Fund Orland Hills Village or Township 39.7% $6,319,400 $10,478,984
39 Worth Police Pension Fund Worth Village or Township 39.8% $21,860,053 $36,333,997
39 Blue Island Police Pension Fund Blue Island City 39.8% $32,059,062 $53,267,960
41 North Chicago Firefighters Pension Fund North Chicago City 40.4% $20,483,690 $34,370,261
42 Cicero Firefighters’ Pension Fund Cicero Village or Township 40.8% $79,226,461 $133,790,594
43 Forest Park Police Pension Fund Forest Park Village or Township 41% $37,697,488 $63,937,177
44 Melrose Park Firefighters Pension Fund Melrose Park City 41.1% $61,238,248 $103,986,729
45 Kewanee Firefighters Pension Fund Kewanee Fire Protection District 41.3% $11,229,196 $19,115,798
46 North Riverside Firefighters Pension Fund North Riverside Village or Township 42.2% $18,334,006 $31,699,557
47 Willow Springs Police Pension Fund Willow Springs City 42.3% $7,186,960 $12,450,998
48 East St. Louis Police Pension Fund East St. Louis City 42.8% $31,710,417 $55,399,611
49 Mattoon Firefighters Pension Fund Mattoon City 43.3% $28,949,965 $51,067,176
50 Streator Firefighters Pension Fund Streator City 43.7% $9,841,102 $17,489,034
51 Pekin Firefighters Pension Fund Pekin City 44.2% $44,972,438 $80,603,425
52 Antioch Police Pension Fund Antioch Village or Township 44.3% $22,507,263 $40,430,804
53 Murphysboro Police Pension Fund Murphysboro City 44.8% $7,400,477 $13,406,403
54 Rockford Firefighters Pension Fund Rockford City 45% $243,720,485 $442,821,841
55 West Frankfort Police Pension Fund West Frankfort City 45.1% $8,460,333 $15,416,610
56 Cahokia Heights Police Pension Fund Centreville City 45.3% $19,664,032 $35,981,323
57 Hillside Police Pension Fund Hillside Village or Township 45.9% $28,601,329 $52,865,931
58 Oakbrook Terrace Fire Protection District Pension Fund Oakbrook Terrace City 46% $2,639,694 $4,889,901
58 Melrose Park Police Pension Fund Melrose Park Village or Township 46% $56,186,523 $104,105,647
58 Charleston Police Pension Fund Charleston City 46% $22,275,326 $41,224,924
61 Dekalb Firefighters Pension Fund De Kalb City 46.1% $52,987,441 $98,225,613
62 Oak Lawn Police Pension Fund Oak Lawn City 46.3% $117,769,104 $219,171,942
62 Stickney Police Pension Fund Stickney Village or Township 46.3% $11,415,170 $21,246,665
64 Canton Firefighters Pension Fund Canton City 46.4% $11,552,418 $21,564,491
65 North Riverside Police Pension Fund North Riverside Village or Township 46.6% $26,723,002 $50,002,140
65 Riverside Police Pension Fund Riverside City 46.6% $17,923,424 $33,563,776
67 Manhattan Police Pension Fund Manhattan Village or Township 46.7% $5,224,436 $9,810,452
68 Hillside Firefighters Pension Fund Hillside Village or Township 47% $19,279,606 $36,391,365
68 Lasalle Police Pension Fund La Salle Village or Township 47% $14,445,385 $27,269,276
68 River Grove Police Pension Fund River Grove Village or Township 47% $18,393,924 $34,717,954
71 Franklin Park Police Pension Fund Franklin Park Village or Township 47.3% $42,337,489 $80,377,132
72 Mattoon Police Pension Fund Mattoon City 47.4% $29,226,396 $55,546,726
73 West Frankfort Firefighters Pension Fund West Frankfort City 47.6% $5,931,509 $11,320,574
74 Park Forest Police Pension Fund Park Forest Village or Township 47.7% $33,109,771 $63,259,495
75 Jerseyville Police Pension Fund Jerseyville Village or Township 47.8% $8,021,268 $15,361,077
76 Marengo Police Pension Fund Marengo City 47.9% $8,865,811 $17,022,277
76 Maywood Police Pension Fund Maywood Village or Township 47.9% $40,650,996 $78,048,329
78 Charleston Firefighters Pension Fund Charleston City 48.1% $21,070,752 $40,612,567
78 Ottawa Firefighters Pension Fund Ottawa City 48.1% $21,080,148 $40,601,081
78 Matteson Firefighters Pension Fund Matteson Village or Township 48.1% $28,336,901 $54,641,705
81 Olympia Fields Police Pension Fund Olympia Fields Village or Township 48.3% $15,064,305 $29,129,269
81 Wayne Police Pension Fund Wayne Village or Township 48.3% $2,483,666 $4,803,696
83 Chicago Heights Police Pension Fund Chicago Heights Village or Township 48.5% $66,721,222 $129,652,992
84 Itasca Police Pension Fund Itasca Village or Township 48.8% $22,478,727 $43,875,854
84 Schiller Park Police Pension Fund Schiller Park Village or Township 48.8% $27,674,551 $54,075,306
86 Rockford Police Pension Fund Rockford City 49.7% $243,290,612 $484,039,160
87 Bridgeview Firefighters Pension Fund Bridgeview Village or Township 49.8% $31,729,816 $63,208,657
88 Carmi Police Pension Fund Carmi City 49.9% $5,017,333 $10,004,863
89 Savanna Firefighters Pension Fund Savanna City 50% $1,352,246 $2,703,812
90 Des Plaines Police Pension Fund Des Plaines Village or Township 50.2% $98,091,406 $196,967,826
91 South Chicago Heights Police Pension Fund South Chicago Heights City 50.4% $3,962,996 $7,982,608
91 Centralia Police Pension Fund Centralia City 50.4% $14,338,909 $28,938,213
91 Harrisburg Police Pension Fund Harrisburg City 50.4% $7,035,937 $14,185,669
94 Niles Police Pension Fund Niles City 50.5% $51,077,927 $103,200,536
94 Barrington Police Pension Fund Barrington Village or Township 50.5% $26,351,154 $53,218,265
94 Pontoon Beach Police Pension Fund Pontoon Beach Village or Township 50.5% $7,579,533 $15,319,113
97 Flossmoor Firefighters Pension Fund Flossmoor Village or Township 50.6% $3,521,600 $7,132,460
98 Caseyville Police Pension Fund Caseyville Village or Township 50.7% $3,440,097 $6,979,835
98 Zion Police Pension Fund Zion City 50.7% $37,726,460 $76,487,262
100 Springfield Firefighter’s Pension Fund Springfield Village or Township 50.8% $173,150,294 $352,156,867

Information for this report comes from the Illinois Department of Insurance (IDOI). The source data is available here.



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