Illinois Judges' Retirement System
| Illinois Judges' Retirement System (JRS) | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Springfield, Illinois |
| Top official: | Justice Debra B. Walker, chairperson |
| Year founded: | 1941 |
| Active members: | 953 |
| Website: | Official website |
| Total assets under management | |
| 2024: | $1,357,082,191 |
- See also: Public pensions in Illinois
The Illinois Judges' Retirement System (JRS) is a Illinois state pension fund that provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to the state's judges and associate judges of any court, including the director of the Administrative Office of Illinois Courts if the director had previously established JRS membership as a judge. JRS had $1,357,082,191 ($1.36 billion) in total assets under management as of June 30, 2024.[1]
The management of public pension funds can indicate support or opposition to environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) investment practices. ESG investing considers the extent to which corporations align with and promote certain non-financial standards, such as net carbon emission or corporate board diversity goals. States typically hire asset management companies (AMCs) to direct pension plan investments, some of which have ESG commitments that guide their strategies.
This article features the following sections:
- Background: Information about the structure and functions of JRS.
- Pension performance overview: Overview of the funding level and assets managed by JRS.
- Assets and asset management: Information about the asset management companies (AMCs) that contract with JRS, including a list of contracting AMCs that are participants in the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative and the Climate Action 100+ initiative.
- Governance and accountability: Details about JRS's oversight board, including members and selection.
Background
- See also: Public pensions
The Illinois Judges' Retirement System (JRS), founded in 1941, invests the assets of and provides funding for the retirement of Illinois judges, associate judges, and the director of the Administrative Office of Illinois Courts if they previously established membership as a judge. JRS operates as a defined benefit plan and comprises two tiers, those who became members of JRS before January 1, 2011, and those who became members of JRS after December 31, 2010.[2][3][4]
JRS served over 953 active members and approximately 1,378 retirees and beneficiaries as of June 30, 2024.[2][1]
Pension performance overview
The following table features information about the funding level and assets managed by the Illinois Judges' Retirement System as of June 30, 2024:[1]
| Illinois Judges' Retirement System pension performance (June 30, 2024) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fiscal year | Percent funded | Unfunded liabilities | Total assets[5] |
| 2024 | 44.62% | $1,684,338,419 | $1,357,082,191 |
Assets and asset management
| Environmental, social, and corporate governance |
|---|
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| • What is ESG? • Enacted ESG legislation • Arguments for and against ESG • Opposition to ESG • Federal ESG rules • ESG legislation tracker • Economy and Society: Ballotpedia's weekly ESG newsletter |
Asset management companies (AMCs) are hired to manage asset investment for state pension funds across all 50 states.
As of October 2024, 330 AMCs were members of the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative (NZAM), and 391 AMCs were investor participants in the Climate Action 100+ initiative. Both international asset manager initiatives aimed to align the investment decisions of signatories with the goal of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.[6][7]
NZAM announced on January 13, 2025, that it was suspending operations and removing the commitment statement and list of signatories from its website. The group said in a statement it would reevaluate its plans and operations in light of “[r]ecent developments in the U.S. and different regulatory and client expectations in investors’ respective jurisdictions.”[8]
List of AMCs contracting with the Illinois Judges' Retirement System
Research regarding the AMCs contracting with the Illinois Judges' Retirement System (JRS) is pending.
Governance and accountability
This section features information about the five-member board of trustees that oversees the Illinois Judges' Retirement System (JRS). The board is specific to oversight of JRS and does not exercise oversight duties for other state funds. The Illinois State Board of Investment provides additional oversight to JRS, among other state retirement systems.[9][10]
Board selection method
The board of trustees that oversees JRS is made up of five members. It comprises the state treasurer, the Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court, and three participating judges elected by the supreme court.[10]
Board of trustees membership
A five-member board of trustees oversees the operation and administration of JRS. The following individuals served on the board as of June 2024:[10]
- Justice Debra B. Walker, chairperson - proxy for Chief Justice Mary Jane Theis
- Judge Charles M. Feeney III, vice chairperson
- Chief Justice Mary Jane Theis
- State Treasurer Michael Frerichs
- Judge Karen Wall
- Justice Thomas Hoffman
See also
- Public pensions in Illinois
- Environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG)
- Arguments about environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG)
- Opposition to environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) investing
- Reform proposals related to environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG)
- State legislative approaches opposing ESG investing
- State legislative approaches supporting ESG investing
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Illinois Retirement Systems, “Judges’ Retirement System of Illinois Annual Actuarial Valuation as of June 30, 2023,” June 25, 2024
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Illinois Retirement Systems, “Your Rights & Responsibilities Member Handbook Tier 2 Members,” June 25, 2024
- ↑ Illinois Retirement Systems, “Your Rights & Responsibilities Member Handbook Tier 1 Members,” June 25, 2024
- ↑ Illinois Courts, "The Judges Retirement System: Securing Our Future, Protecting Our Independence," June 25, 2024
- ↑ Note: By default, this refers to the actuarial valuation of total assets. In some cases, the total market value of assets is shown instead. See the cited source for details.
- ↑ The Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative, "The Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative," accessed January 26, 2023
- ↑ Climate Action 100+, "The Three Goals," accessed June 20, 2023
- ↑ Pensions and Investments, "Net Zero Asset Managers initiative to suspend activities in wake of BlackRock departure," accessed January 15, 2024
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Investment, “Board,” June 20, 2024
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 ILGA.gov, “(40 ILCS 5/) Illinois Pension Code,” June 25, 2024
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