The state of Illinois will likely find it difficult in 2015 to get to grips with its crippling $105 billion unfunded pension liability for government workers, pension and legal analysts warned. Judgments in another state, Arizona, are one of the reasons for their pessimism.

In March, Illinois officials will try to persuade the state’s highest court to overturn a November lower court ruling that declared unconstitutional a 2013 law seeking to extend reduced pension benefits to all state workers. But the court rulings in Arizona show that Illinois, which has the worst funded pensions of any U.S. state, may not have much chance.

The problem is that Illinois, Arizona and New York states all provided public workers, such as police, teachers and even judges, near iron-clad pension guarantees that were embedded in their state constitutions.

There are a lot of great things to do in Chicago – hit the Chicago River for an architectural boat tour, gain five pounds sampling the city’s famousdeep-dish pizza or take in a Bulls game at the United Center.

But there are many things you can’t do in the Windy City because of certain regulations. Here are some of the more bizarre examples:

Obama presidential library officials are dissatisfied with Chicago’s two bids for the multimillion-dollar facility as they work toward a decision early next year, according to a source close to the foundation leading the effort on behalf of the president and first lady.

The foundation’s board, which includes two prominent Chicagoans, has “major concerns” that the University of Chicago’s proposal lacks a site that is wholly controlled either by the university or the city of Chicago, the source said.

All three of U. of C.’s proposed sites are believed to involve Chicago Park District land, including one site along the lakefront. Such a location could invite controversy, as evidenced by the ongoing legal fight over the proposed lakefront location for the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art.

Stay away from your car on “amateur” night and ride the CTA for free on New Year’s Eve and going home on New Year’s morning.

In continuing a long tradition, the CTA is partnering with Miller Coors to offer free rides on all trains and buses starting at 10 p.m. Wednesday through 4 a.m. on Thursday, New Year’s Day.

In addition, the CTA will offer expanded train service during that time, including longer trains on the Red and Blue lines and more frequency on most other lines.

There are number of good reasons to abolish the corporate income tax, and John Steele Gordon hits most if not all of them today in the Wall Street Journal. Killing the tax would pro-growth, pro-worker, and anti-cronyism. Let me focus on that third thing, for a moment:

… that engine of tax complexity disappears. And with it disappears an army of lobbyists in Washington working to get favorable tax treatment for corporations. … eliminating the corporate income tax would deal a blow to crony capitalism. Most U.S. government favors to industry are in the form of favorable tax treatment. Most subsidies for politically fashionable but otherwise unprofitable technologies, such as wind and solar power, are also part of the ever-expanding corporate tax code. No corporate tax code, no favorable tax treatment and no subsidies, except direct ones, which would be much easier to hold to political account.

If you make it cheaper and less risky to produce corn, more people will grow corn.

Farmers know that. Even though the recently signed Farm Bill eliminated direct payments to farmers, it still provides for nearly $90 billion in “crop insurance” over 10 years.

Corn production continues to rise. In October 2014, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated a record yield of 174.2 bushels an acre.

As fiscal prospects rebound for most states, Illinois has continued to struggle—and things are about to get worse.

Thanks to the expiration of a four-year tax increase put in place because of fallout from the 2007-09 recession, the state with the nation’s most dire fiscal outlook will see income-tax rates fall by 25% in coming days even as it faces a budget shortfall, a deeply underfunded retirement system and billions of dollars in unpaid bills.

Blurring the picture is how Illinois will respond following November’s elections. Before losing his re-election bid, Gov. Pat Quinn failed to get fellow Democrats in the legislature to make the higher taxes permanent, saying the money was needed to address the financial challenges that have left Illinois with the lowest credit rating among U.S. states.