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Ardis on pension reform

Statewide community leaders say ballooning police and fire pensions are crippling their budgets. Mayors again lobbied for pension reform in Springfield last week.

Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis says if police and firefighter pension requirements are unchanged, it will bankrupt some downstate communities: 

“We love our cops and firefighters, they do a great job, I wouldn’t want to do that, most people wouldn’t. They deserve a good strong pension, they're not going to have a good strong pension in 10 years. Because it’s not sustainable and we can’t tax people enough, to stay in the state and pay for those pensions,” says Ardis.

Ardis says the answer police and firefighters offer is to raise property taxes. But he says people are already feeling overburdened with taxes.