Kane County Reporter

Despite an East Dundee lawmaker's call for pension plans to be recalculated and reviewed after an actuary was defrocked last summer, West Dundee won't be doing any such thing, Village Manager Joseph Cavallaro said during a recent interview.

"No, there is no need to do a recalculation as the overall numbers are very close to the numbers provided by the Department of Insurance over the last two years," Cavallaro said during a Kane County Reporter email interview.

Cavallaro also provided the Kane County Reporter with West Dundee pension numbers compared with those provided by the state's Department of Insurance. The numbers in those columns are very close, according to the information Cavallaro provided.

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"Overall there is a difference of only $52,000 between these two numbers for these last two years," he said. "It is important to note that the village levied the actuarial numbers even if the Department of Insurance requirement was less. Yes, these numbers that have been provided can be trusted and are consistent with the Department of Insurance calculations."

Trust is something lacking these days in pensions around the state. In late August, Illinois state House Rep. Allen Skillicorn (R-East Dundee) publicly called for recalculation and review of Illinois pension plans that suspended actuary Timothy W. Sharpe had been involved in.

"You cannot begin to address a problem if the magnitude isn't fully understood," Skillicorn said in his Aug. 29 statement calling for the recalculation and review. "With the suspension of Mr. Sharpe, it is imperative that we conduct a review and recalculation of every pension he was involved in. The state of Illinois carries a massive unfunded pension liability that is estimated to be anywhere from $150 billion to $250 billion affecting our credit rating, which is just barely above 'junk' status, while many municipalities are severely underfunded as well. The public has a right to know if the situation is even worse."

Skillicorn has represented the 66th State House District since he first was elected to the seat in 2016 and he ran as an unopposed incumbent during this month's midterm elections. The 66th State House District is located within Kane and McHenry counties and includes much or all of Huntley, Lake in The Hills and Algonquin.

Sharpe received a two-year suspension from the American Academy of Actuaries on Aug. 20, according to a notice of public discipline issued by the academy the same day. Sharpe received the suspension "for materially failing to comply" with portions of the academy's code of professional conduct, including provisions regarding honesty, integrity and competence, according to the notice.

At the end of his two-year suspension, if Sharpe wants to resume membership in the academy, he will have to meet academy professionalism requirements that will result in an academy reinstatement.

Sharpe's suspension garnered attention outside the academy because of valuations he performed on behalf of several municipal police and fire pension plans in the state. Sharpe also was working on pensions in the state prior to his suspension, while complaints against him were being investigated by the academy.

Sharpe and the academy have been at odds before his suspension. In January, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by Sharpe against the academy in which he sought damages and injunctive relief from "alleged unlawful dissemination of information regarding Mr. Sharpe's disciplinary proceeding within the organization."

The swirl of attention around Sharpe won't touch West Dundee, but the village will need a new actuary, Cavallaro said.

"We will be soliciting proposals from other actuarial firms for next year's calculations," he said.