Gov. Bruce Rauner’s administration says a pending move by Illinois’ largest public-pension fund would increase the state’s required payment by hundreds of millions of dollars, potentially leading to higher taxes or massive cuts to education and social services already suffering amid a budget crisis.

The board of the Teachers Retirement System, which serves more than 400,000 teachers outside of Chicago, is scheduled to vote Friday on whether to lower its expected rate of return on investments. A reduction would trigger a larger contribution from the state, where the Republican governor and Democrat-led Legislature have gone more than a year without agreeing on how to close a multibillion-dollar budget hole or address a $111 billion unfunded pension liability.

The retirement system won’t make public the recommended change or its impact on Illinois’ payment for the next fiscal year until Friday’s meeting, spokesman Dave Urbanek said Wednesday.

Premiums could rise by 43 percent on average in 2017 for Illinois residents who buy health insurance on the state exchange, regulators announced Wednesday.

The announcement by the state Department of Insurance comes as the agency reported new rates to federal authorities, and months after health care giants Aetna and United Healthcare announced plans to drop out of the Illinois’ exchange. And the nonprofit Land of Lincoln Health is folding after suffering heavy losses.

Rates for a typical “benchmark” plan would increase by 43 percent on average, the Associated Press reported.

The Chicago Teachers Union’s Big Bargaining Team wants the union to walk off the job if a contract deal isn’t reached by October.

That’s according to the union’s latest contract bulletin, which is urging its members to prepare during the first weeks of school just in case.

Out with the Cell, in with … well, fans aren’t quite sure what to call it yet.

In a marriage between the White Sox and one of the largest home lenders in the United States, the ballpark located at 35th and Shields will undergo a name change Nov. 1 from U.S. Cellular Field to Guaranteed Rate Field.

The Sox announced Wednesday a 13-year naming-rights agreement with the mortgage lender after the owner and operator of the stadium, the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority (ISFA), approved the name change at a board meeting earlier in the day.

Chicago homeowners will see their property taxes rise thanks to unanimous votes Wednesday by the Board of Education — and possibly even greater cuts to schools if either of two big question marks in Chicago Public Schools’ budget get answered with a no.

All six of seven Board members present voted to approve $5.4 billion in operational spending, a $250 million property tax hike that pays directly into burgeoning teacher pensions, nearly $1 billion in borrowing for capital projects and $1.5 billion in short-term loans needed to pay bills through next spring’s tax season.

Maybe you thought the Chicago Public Schools budget crisis was essentially over. Springfield coughed up some cash. So will Chicago taxpayers. Mayor Rahm Emanuel is boasting about spending millions to install air conditioning in every school.

All’s back to normal, right?

Not quite. Instead of CPS DEFCON 1 (imminent insolvency), CPS has edged back from the brink of fiscal doom to DEFCON 2 (severe fiscal distress).

On Wednesday, the Chicago Board of Education approved a budget built on dares.