Board of Trustees of the Police Pension Fund v. City of Evanston

We review the authority, if any, of elected city councils to ignore the recommendations of a police pension board on the level of funding for police pensions under Illinois law. We conclude that a city council need not accept the dollar amount recommended to it by a police pension board, but that it must follow Illinois law in calculating the amount it selects as an alternative.

The Board of Trustees of the Police Pension Fund (the Board) for the City of Evanston filed a lawsuit against the city and its elected council to enforce compliance with the Illinois Pension Code (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1987,…