Contact:

Mary Frances O’Connor (312) 821-9026
Robert Herguth (312) 821-9030

Oct. 20, 2014

CHICAGO—Want to know how much public-sector retirees are collecting in pension benefits?

Then visit the Better Government Association’s free Pension Database – newly updated with the most recently available information.

The database is available at this link:

Pension Database

The portal compliments other BGA databases that are growing or soon to be updated:

  • The Payroll Database includes salary information on nearly 650,000 public-sector employees throughout Illinois.
  • The Pension Outlook Database includes information on current and former government employees who stand to collect a taxpayer-subsidized pension some day.
  • Two schools databases include salary and other information on teachers and administrators in the Chicago region and beyond.
  • The Collective Bargaining Database includes information on labor contracts for municipal employees throughout the Chicago area.

“We build and maintain these databases for the sake of transparency – so the public can see how their tax dollars are spent,” said BGA President and CEO Andy Shaw. “A lot of tax money goes toward salaries and benefits for public-sector employees and retirees. Our portals can help residents judge whether public agencies are being fair and efficient in their spending.”

All of the databases are available through the BGA’s home page, www.bettergov.org, under the “Resources” heading, or at the following direct links:

Payroll Database

Pension Database

Pension Outlook Database

Cook County Schools Database

Collar County Schools Database

Collective Bargaining Database

The Better Government Association is a Chicago-based nonprofit, nonpartisan watchdog group that works for integrity, transparency and accountability in government by exposing corruption and inefficiency; identifying and advocating effective public policy; and engaging and mobilizing the public to achieve authentic and responsible reform.