by Conor Durkin When politicians lose interest in reform, taxpayers “lose interest,” too. Last week Gov. Quinn’s special legislative session failed to pass a bill dealing with Illinois’ pension problems.  Yet even if any measure had passed, Illinois’ massive problems would persist. The proposals debated in Springfield were far too small to make a visible...

While they only managed to pass an amendment, the House provided some memorable quotes.

Illinois’ state pension systems are barreling towards insolvency. Without a complete pension overhaul, Illinois’ five pension systems may reach their breaking point. There is only one way to prevent a collapse. Illinois must shift from defined benefit (DB) to defined contribution (DC) plans. In a DB plan, an employer pays fixed, regular pension payments over a...

THE PROBLEM Illinois reports that it owes $83 billion to its five public pension funds. That amount represents the chronic failure of the state to fully fund its pension systems, overly generous retirement benefits for state workers, and the inability of those funds to meet their investment targets. Unfortunately, this $83 billion figure grossly understates...

When Rhode Island saw the writing on the wall late last year, its legislature did something no one thought it could do. It passed the boldest pension reforms in the nation. A democrat-controlled state, with the second-worst funded pension system in the nation, passed a series of reforms that cut the state’s unfunded liabilities by...