Regardless of the outcome of the case, the burden Chicagoans face from the government-worker pension crisis won’t be going away any time soon.

A Cook County judge is scheduled to rule on the constitutionality of Chicago's pension-reform law on July 24. No matter what the outcome is, the pension overhaul will eventually end up in the Illinois Supreme Court. But the ruling may give a clue as to whether or not the city’s reforms will ultimately be upheld.