The city’s rating from Fitch is now just one notch above junk status.

The Illinois Supreme Court’s overturning of Chicago’s modest pension reform means Chicago faces higher pension contributions, rapidly growing pension debt and an increased risk of total insolvency for its pension funds.

While striking down modest reforms to Chicago city-worker pensions, the Illinois Supreme Court has effectively given state lawmakers the green light on other avenues for pension reform.

Pension holidays, steep increases in teachers' salaries, and lopsided ratios of teacher contributions to pension payouts have caused the Chicago Teachers’ Pension Fund’s unfunded liabilities to shoot up to $9 billion in 2015.

Illinois’ growing pension costs – not the state budget gridlock – are taking away funding for essential government services, such as education.

Spending on state-worker pension benefits grew 586 percent between 2000 and 2015.

More than 1.7 million Illinoisans hold student-loan debt.