Of Illinois' $530 billion in debt, $313 billion is owed to the five state-run pension funds, $55 billion to state retiree health insurance and $9 billion to state pension obligation bonds, according to a Wirepoints report. | Adobe Stock
Of Illinois' $530 billion in debt, $313 billion is owed to the five state-run pension funds, $55 billion to state retiree health insurance and $9 billion to state pension obligation bonds, according to a Wirepoints report. | Adobe Stock
Republican state Rep. Amy Grant says Springfield lawmakers can no longer keep their heads in the sand over spiraling pension debt.
“Springfield doesn't want to address it,” Grant told the DuPage Policy Journal. “No matter how bad it gets, government doesn’t want to show leadership and just wants to keep kicking the can down the road. The system isn't set up as it should be, government workers get a 3% increase in COLA adjustments every year, and that only increases pension debt.”
Grant argues the numbers bear that out, pointing to a new Wirepoints special report that details how taxpayers now face a $530 billion pension shortfall that averages out to a balance of $110,000 for every one of the state’s 4.9 million households.
Illinois Rep. Amy Grant (R-Wheaton)
| repgrant.com
As all the debt has continued to amass, Illinois has also seen its credit rating nosedive to the worst in the country and its property taxes soar to second-highest across the nation, with all of the struggles coming as the state has suffered the second-largest population decline in the country over the last decade, according to the report.
Of the $530 billion in debt, $313 billion is owed to the five state-run pension funds, $55 billion to state retiree health insurance and $9 billion to state pension obligation bonds. Data shows another $122 billion is owed to Chicago and Cook county pensions and retiree health and $32 billion to other government pensions and retiree health.
“Springfield just doesn't want to address it because so many of these lawmakers' constituents are government workers,” Grant said. “I think that we need lawmakers that want to actually address the situation. We need lawmakers to be sincere, and we need them to want to make a difference on this issue.”
Grant says she still holds out hope that there can be a successful pension plan in the future without so many taxpayers feeling like they’ve been left holding the bag.
“I think we can, but it will take some doing,” she added. “And it will take more committed lawmakers.”
Alerts Sign-up