More than 1,000 Cook County Health and Hospitals System workers may retire early if Springfield approves major changes to the county’s public employee pension fund, according to the county hospital system’s interim leader.
Dr. John Jay Shannon, CCHHS's interim CEO, told the hospital system's board at its Friday meeting that “the numbers could be very significant.” Shannon later gave a “very liberal” estimate that up to 1,400 of the system’s 6,744 workers could walk off the job in order to collect a more generous pension.