During its July 27, 2026, meeting, the Board of Trustees of the Chicago Teachers’ Pension Fund (CTPF) adopted a resolution calling on Cook County to include Chicago Public Schools (CPS) in the county’s Property Tax Bridge Fund and to ensure the timely collection and distribution of property tax revenues owed to CPS and CTPF.
Back row (L-R): Financial Secretary Pedro Beiza, Trustee Paula S. Barajas, Vice President Quentin S. Washington, Executive Director Carlton W. Lenoir Sr., Trustee Jack Silver, Trustee Erika Meza
The resolution recognizes the critical role property tax revenues play in supporting public education, employee compensation, and retirement security. CTPF relies on property tax levy revenues for stable annual funding, and delays in receiving those funds can affect the Fund’s ability to invest assets in a timely manner on behalf of members and beneficiaries.
“This resolution reflects our Board’s commitment to protecting the long-term financial security of our members and retirees,” said Carlton W. Lenoir, Sr., Executive Director of CTPF. “Timely property tax revenues help CTPF invest responsibly and support the health of the Fund. Ensuring fair access to bridge financing and reducing delays benefits educators, retirees, students, and taxpayers.”
In the resolution, the Board urges Cook County and all responsible governmental entities to take reasonable actions necessary to ensure the timely collection, processing, and distribution of property tax revenues owed to taxing bodies, including CTPF and the Chicago Board of Education.
CTPF remains committed to responsible stewardship of pension assets and to protecting the retirement security of Chicago’s educators and their families.
The resolution reads as follows:
Resolution Calling on Cook County Government to include the Chicago Public Schools in its Property Tax Bridge Fund to ensure the timely receipt of funds owed to the Chicago Board of Education (Board) and to the Chicago Teachers Pension Fund (CTPF) due from the property tax levies administered by Cook County and calling on the Board and CTPF to join the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) in potentially invoking available legal remedies if Cook County fails to include the Board in the bridge funding and to ensure timely funding to the Board and CTPF.
WHEREAS, the Board, the CTU, and CTPF share an interest in the timely and efficient collection and distribution of property tax revenues relied upon to support public education, employee compensation, and retirement security; and
WHEREAS, CTPF relies on the property tax levy for stable, reliable annual funding; and
WHEREAS, the property tax levy billing and distribution is administered by the Cook County Government, the Cook County Assessor and the Cook County Treasurer and is distributed by statute directly to CTPF; and
WHEREAS, any delay in the receipt of the Property Tax Levy results in delayed investments and reduced returns for CTPF; and
WHEREAS, any delay in property taxes to the Board leads to delayed investments in students and staffing; and
WHEREAS, historically CTPF has suffered from underfunding and has fought to reinstate the Pension Levy in 2016 and increase it in 2017; and
WHEREAS, the Board has suffered from the same historical underfunding by the state and is currently underfunded by $2 billion; and
WHEREAS, the extensive delay of property tax receipts over the last two installments has caused the Board to both extend and deepen their short-term borrowing to the maximum amounts available, incurring tens of millions in additional interest costs, affecting the ability to cover payroll and open schools in August; and
WHEREAS, any delay in payroll or further reduction in staffing at the Board due to the increased cost of short-term borrowing and interest payments to banks will mean students in larger class sizes, reduced special education services and other educational harms; and
WHEREAS, the reduction of staffing and potential delay of payroll may have a direct impact on funds remitted to CTPF and to the active members of the CTPF and reduce available revenue; and
WHEREAS, Cook County had authorized and financed a $300 million Property Tax Bridge Fund in 2025 to school districts and taxing bodies to access their owed funds without having to go to financial markets but made the Board ineligible to participate; and
WHEREAS, the County is again set to authorize a similar lending program for this year and again make the Board ineligible to participate; and
WHEREAS, the exclusion of the Board from the County program will again lead to delays in property tax receipts and further degradation and delay of funding to CTPF, endangering CTPF’s ability to responsibly invest tax dollars in a prudent and timely manner; and
WHEREAS, the increased borrowing taken on by the Board would lead to further diversion of funding from the classroom and reductions in staffing and active CTPF membership in order to cover interest payments to banks.
THEREFORE, the Board of Trustees of the Chicago Teachers' Pension Fund:
- Calls for the Inclusion of the Chicago Board of Education in the Cook County Property Tax Bridge Fund to prevent further reductions in staffing and further delays in the Fund’s investment of property tax dollars.
- Urges Cook County and all responsible governmental entities to take all reasonable actions necessary to ensure the timely collection, processing, and distribution of property tax revenues owed to taxing bodies, including CTPF and the Chicago Board of Education.
- Requests CTPF counsel to evaluate potential losses associated with delayed distributions and assess available legal remedies.