Outgoing Mayor Rahm Emanuel is publicly pushing for a constitutional amendment to the state’s pension clause. Pension reform is the only way to combat rising property taxes and prevent further budget chaos in Illinois state and local governments.

Fitch Ratings has issued a warning about a pension plan pushed by one Illinois think tank, which includes no reform and would harm the state’s credit rating. The response from the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability proves how indefensible the plan really is.

Illinoisans should know lawmakers in the past made big moves to fix the state's worst-in-the-nation pension crisis. It’s politically possible. They just need a little reminder of our history.

Once again proving why the state must amend the Illinois Constitution’s pension clause, the court unanimously ruled in favor of a special perk that inflated union leader pensions to nearly three times the pension of the average worker.

A pension plan pushed by one Illinois think tank fails to reform the state’s broken pension system and risks repeating costly mistakes. Gov.-elect J.B. Pritzker shouldn’t be fooled and should instead endorse meaningful, lasting reform.

The Chicago suburb is facing severe fiscal challenges brought about by its unsustainable pension burden and $75 million in debt – a trend that has become too common among Illinois municipalities.