Illinois Judges' Retirement System

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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
2023:	$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.

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.

JRS served over 953 active members and approximately 1,378 retirees and beneficiaries as of June 30, 2024.

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:

Illinois Judges' Retirement System pension performance (June 30, 2024)
Fiscal year	Percent funded	Unfunded liabilities	Total assets
2023	44.62%	$1,684,338,419	$1,357,082,191

Assets and asset management

Asset management companies (AMCs) contract with pension funds to manage asset investment. Some pension funds contract with multiple AMCs, some contract with a single AMC, and others make their own investment decisions without contracting with an AMC.

More than 300 AMCs as of December 2022 were members of the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative (NZAM), and 362 asset managers as of June 2023 were investor participants in the Climate Action 100+ initiative. Both international asset manager initiatives aim to align signatory investment decisions with the goal of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

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.

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.

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:

• 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)
• Areas of inquiry and disagreement related to 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

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