Center for Illinois Politics - Connecting People to Politics

Pension funding

Thanks to a combination of years of insufficient contributions and disappointing investment performance, Illinois' five public pension systems are underfunded by more than $130 billion. The issue remains one of the state's most pressing problems, complicated by a clause in the Illinois Constitution asserting that benefits cannot be "diminished or impaired," leading the courts to strike down the Legislature's recent attempts at shoring up the systems.