When state lawmakers passed legislation adding $11 billion to Chicago’s police and fire pension liabilities, it wasn’t just bad policy — it was a fiscal grenade tossed into an unstable situation. That move dropped the city’s police and fire funding ratio to about 18%, deepening a crisis decades in the making.

I know that crisis not just from headlines but from home. My dad is a retired Chicago police officer. I grew up surrounded by cops, firefighters and city workers who dedicated their lives to public service — and now wonder if the city will keep its promises. That anxiety is real and growing.

For years, leaders have patched holes with borrowing and tax hikes, but the math keeps getting worse. Chicago’s unfunded pension liability now tops $35 billion, dragging down our credit rating

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