This is the first flyer I sent out to all the active members of the pension fund when I first ran for the Pension Fund Trustee term beginning in December 2014.  I emphasized my concern that there was too much focus on investment returns, and not enough focus on securing funding, specifically the need to start eliminating TIF districts.

This flyer was mailed out to all the firehouses in response to other Trustees concerns that I was misguided and might prove difficult to work with on the Pension Board.  I responded by stating that I acknowledge I wasn’t “their guy” and quoted a famous Chicago Democratic patronage line “We don’t want nobody, nobody sent”.  I was essentially responding that I will work in good faith but I wasn’t going to cave into principal.  This essentially foreshadowed a bitter back and forth between me and the established Local 2 Executive Board and the 35th Street Brass.

This flyer was mailed out to all the firehouses in response to concerns members were sharing with me that the Local 2 Political Action Director was working behind the scenes with the City to trade adequate funding for our retirement in exchange for better benefits for a select group of pension fund members, notably those born between 1955 and 1966.  Some members were upset that the Political Action Director was expanding the benefit to cover select members of the Local 2 Executive Board and excluding other members of the pension fund. I was more concerned about the absolute imprudent, reckless and misguided strategy Local 2 was exhibiting by not fighting against SB777.

This flyer was sent out to all the firehouses asking members to contact Governor Rauner to veto SB777.  I discuss my attendance at the Local 2 Executive Board meeting and my inquiry if they were actively working to defeat SB777 which severely harms our pension fund. I was dismayed to hear Local 2 was supporting SB777. I also asked if the Local 2 Executive Board was going to proceed with a direct legal action against the City for adequate funding; the Executive Board would not commit to a legal action. Finally, I question the Local 2 Political Action Director’s strategy and for the first time use the term Ponzi Scheme in my impromptu newsletters.

This flyer was sent out to all the firehouses warning the members of the dire consequences of the Local 2 Executive Board not standing up for adequate funding for our retirement security. I lay out a scenario, where, the Retirement Board may have to soon consider ceasing pension payments if the funding falls below a certain level. After this letter was distributed, there was a heated debate at the Retiree Committee meeting between Dan Fabrizio, Mark McDermott and me.

This flyer, and the next one, was sent out to all the firehouses during the 2017 Local 2 Executive Board election. Although I wasn’t on the ballot, I felt I had an obligation to speak up and against candidates that did real harm to the sustainability of our pension fund.  This flyer has a graph that depicts what our pension fund should have in it if it was healthy and properly defended versus what is actually in our pension fund. The illustration is not pretty.

This flyer, and the previous one, was sent out to all the firehouses during the 2017 Local 2 Executive Board election. The line chart illustrates just how much damage to our pension fund was caused by this Executive Board. The precipitous drop can not be explained by the financial crisis alone; our pension fund is a long-term plan that can weather a financial crisis. What our pension fund can not handle is long term neglect and elected union officials unwilling to speak the truth or make difficult decisions.

I mailed this flyer to all the retired Local 2 member’s homes, asking them to support Mike Butkus for Director of Contract Enforcement.  I am hesitant to make endorsements, the only other Local 2 Board member I have endorsed is Secretary Treasurer Mike O’Neil. But, I appreciate Butkus’ grit and no-nonsense attitude. Although Butkus and I didn’t always see eye to eye, especially when I first ran as a trustee, I believe he serves the memberships interest well regardless of how ugly he appears.

This flyer was distributed to all the firehouses during the last pension fund election, you may not have seen it because there was a concerted effort to remove them all from the firehouses. In this letter I attempt to illustrate the real imbalance in benefit distribution among pension fund members.  Some members will pay less and get more while others will pay more and get less.  I felt then, and still feel, that such inequities should be frowned upon in a Union, especially the fire service, where we live together for a good portion of our lives.  Members that do the exact same job should get the same benefit.

This newsletter was published to address a news documentary, “The Pension Gamble”, that was advertised on the Local 2 Daily Blast.  I had many members, both active and retired, ask me what I thought of the documentary.  In the newsletter I give a summary of the documentary and my thoughts on the documentary as it pertains to investments, legislative processes and finally legal and moral viewpoints.

This flyer was the first of my second term as trustee.  I address the concern many members have expressed that the contributions they make to the pension fund are being used to subsidize current retiree benefits.  I describe a policy I had proposed the pension board adopt to address these concerns.  I criticized Trustee Tony Martin for essentially misleading the membership with incomplete information.  I also criticized him for not mentioning the important Illinois Appellate Court case Board of Trustees of the City of Harvey Firefighters’ Pension Fund v. City of Harvey.  Finally, I illustrate the opportunity cost that members are missing out on by being forced to participate in a pension fund that is structurally deficient.

This newsletter was distributed to firehouses in July 2019.  I discuss the Illinois Appellate Court case, Board of Trustees of the City of Harvey Firefighters’ Pension Fund v. City of Harvey and apply it to our Fund and the City of Chicago.  In my opinion it is as straightforward of an argument I could make for litigating against the City for adequate funding.  The Appellate Court attempted to define what the criteria was for a pension fund to be considered “on the verge of default”.  The criteria established by prior court cases, is required in order for trustees or members to be able to litigate for adequate funding.  Certain trustees took issue with the newsletter and the Board took a considerable amount of time discussing the newsletter.  Unfortunately, the discussion was less on the substance of the letter and more on whether I violated the Board’s Communication Policy.  For the sake of keeping the administration of the Fund focused on relevant issues, I agreed to change the title of my newsletters going forward and clearly note that the content was solely my opinion.