Illinois lawmakers might borrow $1 billion to extend pension buyout programs until 2026. Experts warn the efforts have been a disappointment and will do little to ease Illinois’ worst-in-the-nation pension crisis.

Illinois’ pension crisis has been a growing problem for decades, and its negative effects on state residents are well documented.1 Economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and related government shutdown orders threaten to bring that long-running crisis closer to its breaking point. The state’s five pension systems collectively held nearly $139 billion of debt at...