City of East St. Louis
City of East St. Louis
City of East St. Louis taxpayers have paid out nearly $36 million in pension benefits to 53 retired firefighters who contributed a collective $2.38 million to the retirement fund.
That’s according to an analysis of East St. Louis Fire Pension Fund records by Local Government Information Services, which publishes the Metro East Sun.
Of 53 East St. Louis fire retirees, 20 contributed zero to their pension fund. Those firemen, who retired from the department between 1979 and 2008, have already collected $16.9 million in benefits from taxpayers.
East St. Louis Mayor Robert Eastern III
The 33 firemen who did contribute to the pension fund saved an average of $72,108 and have already collected an average of $575,960 in benefits, or eight times what they put into the fund. They have retirement dates between 1998 and 2017.
Over 30 years of retirement, the LGIS analysis shows, the 33 will receive an average of $2,054,545 each, more than 28 times what they put in.
The analysis comes on the heels of a vote by the East St. Louis Fire Pension board to petition the state to let it intercept $2.3 million in state payments from the city to make ends meet.
In 2018, East St. Louis taxpayers contributed $2.029 million to subsidize the fund, which lost $248,555 on its investments while paying out $3.78 million in benefits and expenses.
According to state filings, the fund had $5.59 million in assets as of Dec. 31, 2018.
Who are the retirees?
LGIS researched the 53 fire department retirees receiving these benefits, most of whom started work for East St. Louis in the 1960s and 1970s, when the town was larger and still had an industrial base.
East St. Louis’ population has fallen from 81,728 in 1960 to 26,346 today, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The retirees were promised lifetime retirements, though most weren't asked to contribute to the fund at all, much less at a level required to keep such a promise.
East St. Louis Fire Pension Board Chairman Johnnie Anthony joined the department in September 1972. He worked 30 years and four months, retiring in 2003, putting a total of $65,409 in the fund, an average of $179 per month over his career.
Anthony, who lives in Belleville where he has served as a city alderman for 14 years and the city’s fire and police commissioner for 10 years, has already taken out $809,117, according to the LGIS analysis, or 12 times his contribution. Over 30 years of retirement, he will collect $1.909 million, nearly 30 times what he saved.
Pension Board Trustee William H. Fennoy III joined the fire department in March 1972 and served 37 years, the last nine as East St. Louis’ fire chief (2001-09). He contributed $104,484 to the fund, or about $230 per month over his career.
Fennoy has collected $649,019 over 10 years of retirement and stands to collect $2.693 million from East St. Louis taxpayers over 30 years, more than 25 times what he put in.
Fennoy’s son, Mario Fennoy, was indicted in June for allegedly taking overtime pay he didn’t earn.
Fellow Trustee Darryl Grimmett Sr. of O’Fallon retired from the department after 30 years and two months in December 2009. He contributed $83,354 into the pension fund; over eight years of retirement, he had taken out $547,180. East St. Louis taxpayers will pay $2.56 million for Grimmett’s retirement, according to the LGIS analysis.
Daniel Haskenhoff of Belleville joined the East St. Louis Fire Department in February 1978, and worked 27 years and one month. He retired in Jan. 2010 and collected an estimated $513,350 over his first eight years of retirement, receiving approximately $62,000 last year from East St. Louis taxpayers.
Haskenhoff, 64, currently serves as chief deputy coroner for St. Clair County where he earns $60,397 per year.
LGIS analyzed Illinois Department of Insurance filings by the East St. Louis Fire Pension fund to calculate estimated total benefits paid to 53 active retirees receiving money from the fund. Below are its findings:
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East St. Louis Fire Pension Fund: By the Numbers
| Name | Year Retired | Total Contributed | Total Already Collected | Estimated Lifetime Collection | Contribution Deficit |
| Paul Brummer, Jr. | 1979 | $0 | $613,761 | $425,331 | $425,331 |
| Richard Temple | 1981 | $0 | $1,051,500 | $1,146,401 | $1,146,401 |
| Clarence Ellis, Jr. | 1985 | $0 | $731,730 | $876,596 | $876,596 |
| James Kidd | 1985 | $0 | $965,884 | $1,157,107 | $1,157,107 |
| Devoris Howard | 1989 | $0 | $922,868 | $1,119,850 | $1,119,850 |
| Elmer Jones | 1989 | $0 | $2,128,286 | $2,582,559 | $2,582,559 |
| Charles King | 1989 | $0 | $1,057,697 | $1,283,457 | $1,283,457 |
| Joseph Majka, Jr. | 1989 | $0 | $901,078 | $1,093,410 | $1,093,410 |
| Leverse Brooks | 1991 | $0 | $1,058,762 | $1,173,305 | $1,173,305 |
| Neumon Stroter, Jr. | 1992 | $0 | $797,950 | $932,526 | $932,526 |
| Raymond Maxwell | 1992 | $0 | $788,627 | $921,631 | $921,631 |
| Richard Lay | 1993 | $0 | $723,872 | $893,276 | $893,276 |
| Norman Stevens | 1993 | $0 | $829,816 | $1,024,013 | $1,024,013 |
| Frank Daily | 1995 | $0 | $647,872 | $895,322 | $895,322 |
| Marvin Jackson | 1995 | $0 | $646,013 | $892,753 | $892,753 |
| Luther Brooks | 1996 | $0 | $724,997 | $1,062,835 | $1,062,835 |
| Ronald Brown | 1997 | $0 | $865,199 | $1,347,954 | $1,347,954 |
| Claude Hubbard | 1997 | $0 | $932,288 | $1,452,477 | $1,452,477 |
| George Smith, Jr. | 1998 | $44,945 | $892,842 | $1,481,261 | $1,436,316 |
| Donald Norfleet | 1998 | $45,014 | $721,558 | $1,197,093 | $1,152,079 |
| Robert Bush | 1998 | $48,509 | $947,787 | $1,572,415 | $1,523,906 |
| Jesse Swift | 1998 | $49,967 | $961,092 | $1,594,490 | $1,544,523 |
| William Harrington | 1998 | $50,090 | $970,957 | $1,610,856 | $1,560,766 |
| Garland Edmonds | 1998 | $52,894 | $1,027,364 | $1,704,437 | $1,651,543 |
| Frank Gardner | 1998 | $54,032 | $1,054,492 | $1,749,443 | $1,695,411 |
| Jerry Humphrey, Jr. | 1999 | $52,745 | $1,183,586 | $2,095,602 | $2,042,857 |
| Verge Riley | 1999 | $60,061 | $1,303,052 | $2,307,122 | $2,247,061 |
| Raymond Mix, Jr. | 2000 | $61,126 | $1,054,557 | $1,997,501 | $1,936,375 |
| William Nelson | 2001 | $67,127 | $1,064,420 | $2,162,778 | $2,095,651 |
| Hearie Eastern | 2002 | $42,052 | $359,482 | $1,923,284 | $1,881,232 |
| Johnnie Anthony | 2003 | $65,409 | $809,117 | $1,909,725 | $1,844,316 |
| Keith Rice | 2004 | $28,048 | $215,759 | $1,010,407 | $982,359 |
| Herman Bauer | 2007 | $0 | $203,641 | $682,660 | $682,660 |
| Alfred McGlown | 2008 | $0 | $296,142 | $1,100,039 | $1,100,039 |
| Darryl Grimmett | 2009 | $88,526 | $626,020 | $2,597,998 | $2,509,472 |
| William Fennoy, III | 2009 | $104,484 | $649,016 | $2,693,435 | $2,588,951 |
| Paul Harris | 2010 | $79,094 | $463,519 | $2,170,676 | $2,091,582 |
| Daniel Haskenhoff | 2010 | $79,686 | $513,350 | $2,404,033 | $2,324,347 |
| Thomas Grimmett | 2010 | $83,354 | $547,180 | $2,562,459 | $2,479,105 |
| Gerald Hopkins | 2010 | $87,389 | $511,856 | $2,397,040 | $2,309,651 |
| Ivory Williams | 2011 | $95,488 | $461,477 | $2,468,974 | $2,373,486 |
| Perry Young | 2012 | $87,326 | $329,064 | $1,541,015 | $1,453,689 |
| Charles Welch | 2012 | $99,599 | $397,651 | $2,468,974 | $2,369,375 |
| Bobby Cole, Jr. | 2013 | $3,940 | $321,769 | $1,506,856 | $1,502,916 |
| Kelvin Searcy | 2014 | $66,473 | $360,575 | $1,929,136 | $1,862,663 |
| Larry Hopkins | 2014 | $79,133 | $399,951 | $2,139,799 | $2,060,666 |
| William Clossen | 2014 | $86,506 | $208,309 | $1,866,669 | $1,780,163 |
| Michael Dill | 2016 | $122,490 | $192,869 | $2,968,658 | $2,846,168 |
| Todd Hill | 2017 | $72,345 | $116,465 | $2,729,497 | $2,657,152 |
| Daryn Foster | 2017 | $101,242 | $83,506 | $1,957,062 | $1,855,820 |
| Broderick Hawkins | 2017 | $107,605 | $100,735 | $2,360,835 | $2,253,230 |
| Terrance Stacker | 2017 | $115,398 | $115,410 | $2,704,758 | $2,589,360 |
| Thomas Brock | 2018 | $97,478 | $42,176 | $2,006,541 | $1,909,063 |
| TOTALS | $2,379,575 | $35,894,944 | $89,854,329 | $87,474,754 |
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