SE Illinois News

As the state's debt to its pension fund climbs to a staggering amount, now totaling over $500 billion, several lawmakers are raising the alarm and insisting that the issue be directly addressed. 

One such lawmaker is Rep. Adam Niemerg, who says it is time to finally tackle root of the problem. 

"Illinois is in this mess because of decades of poor financial decisions," Niemerg told SE Illinois News. "Instead of addressing the pension crisis years ago, our leaders have elected to ignore the problem, which has only served to turn what was a difficult situation into the huge crisis it is today."

A recent report about the pension fund debt found that pensions and retiree health shortfall were $122 billion in Chicago and Cook counties; state pension obligation bonds were $9 billion; and state retiree health insurance shortfalls hit $55 billion. Illinois taxpayers are now on the hook for a total of $530 billion in debt. 

Niemerg says that denial won't help the situation. 

"The first thing we need to do is recognize we have a problem and stop pretending we don’t. The legislature adjourned last May without even considering any solutions to the growing pension crisis. We need hearings. We need to bring in experts from other states, and we need to develop a plan to fix our pension systems. Ignoring the problem won’t solve it."

The Illinois pension fund debt crisis has reached several troubling milestones in recent years, but has yet to be made a priority by the state legislature. No bills of significance have gained traction in the legislature or are being considered to address the issue, despite the increasingly dire nature of the debt.