Chicago’s fiscal crisis just got worse. Last month, the city received a rare triple-notch downgrade from Moody’s Investors Service, to A3 from Aa3.  Now, Chicago’s parent government, Cook County, has received a downgrade of its own. Moody’s Investors Service downgraded Cook County’s general obligation bond rating to A1 from Aa3 due to the county’s “growing...

Illinois has the nation’s worst-funded pensions. Each Illinois household can expect to pay more than $40,000 in additional taxes to cover the pension shortfall if no reforms are passed. The size of the pension crisis demands that state lawmakers pass the boldest reforms in the country. Fortunately, Illinois lawmakers can look to the examples other states have...

State Reps. Tom Morrison (R-Palatine) and Jeanne Ives (R-Wheaton) have proposed House Bill 3303, which is based the Institute’s pension reform plan. State Sen. Jim Oberweis (R-Sugar Grove) introduced a floor amendment to Senate Bill 2026, which is identical to House Bill 3303. The problem Illinois has the nation’s worst-funded pension systems. The unfunded liability currently stands at more...

Illinois’ pension problem dwarfs the retirement problems in all other states. Officially, the underfunding of the five state-run pension systems total $100 billion. But when more realistic assumptions are used, the shortfall exceeds $200 billion. Without real pension reform, every Illinois household is on the hook for more than $40,000 in additional taxes just to cover...