What may be Illinois’ most intractable problem also happens to be its most expensive.

 

It’s how the state will cope with the $130 billion debt owed to the five state-funded pension systems.

 

The single biggest component of that debt stems from decades of underfunding the pension systems. Governors of both parties and lawmakers from both parties approved budgets that did not include enough money to cover all the required payments to the systems.

 

The problem is exacerbated by state Supreme Court rulings that limit what a governor and General Assembly can do to deal with the debt. Unilaterally changing benefits for workers already in one of the systems is not allowed because of the state Constitution’s pension protection clause. Benefits can be limited, but that only applies to new employees who join one of the systems after a certain date. It does nothing to eliminate the debt that is already on the state’s books.

 

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