SE Illinois News

Republican House hopeful Darren Bailey reasons the numbers speak for themselves in the debate over what sparked Illinois’ dire pension crisis.

“Going as far back as the 1980s, there’s no denying that politicians, both Democrats and Republicans, made some very lucrative promises,” Bailey told the SE Illinois News. “Some of those very lawmakers are now living off those sweet deals with their own pensions. That’s just the way the story does.”

A new report by Wirepoints.com, a research and commentary website that focuses on Illinois politics and state economy, gleamed from data composed by the Illinois Department of Insurance and other sources of developments over the last three decades adds plenty of ammunition to that narrative. It also punches holes in the theory that the crisis was caused by underfunding.

Cynthia Given is the Democratic candidate for the 109th District.

As of 2016, promised benefits were 1,000 percent higher than they were three decades earlier, far outpacing every other measure of the economy over that same time period.

Overall, between 2003 and 2012, pension benefits in Illinois were the third fastest growing in the country, leaving every Illinois household now on the hook for $43,000 in promised pension benefits, according to Wirepoints.

“People are scared now because the money is not there,” said Bailey, who is running against Democrat Cynthia Given in the 109th District. “They should be scared. We’re going to have to have a mentality shift from everyone to get this thing back under control.”

In its analysis, Wirepoints points out that if state pension benefits in Illinois had simply grown on par with neighboring states over the last decade the state’s unfunded pension liability would be reduced by as much as $85 billion.

The site also reports pension assets were seven times higher in 2016 than they were 30 years ago. In addition, they’ve grown five times more than household incomes over the same timeframe and nearly six times more than inflation.

The state’s assets grew the seventh-fastest of any state in the nation from 2003-2015 and over the last 30-years pension assets have grown by over 644 percent, compared to just 176 percent for general revenues, 127 percent for household incomes and 111 percent for inflation.

Bailey said things have gotten so dire he doesn’t see how there can be an immediate fix.

“There’s no magic pill but we do need to start cutting all the junk out of our budget and living within means to have any chance,” he said.

The 109th House District includes parts or all of Jasper, Effingham, Clay, Richland, Lawrence, Wabash, Wayne, Edwards and White counties.