The Civic Federation’s Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability has released its FY2014 State Budget Roadmap, which shows the state is on track to accumulate nearly $22 billion in unpaid bills by FY2018 unless action is taken to curb rising pension costs. The report shows that the state’s outlook has improved since the Federation’s projections last year, largely due to significant Medicaid program reductions authorized in June 2012. The Civic Federation, a MacArthur grantee, urges lawmakers to enact comprehensive pension reforms, including limits on automatic annual benefit increases and a gradual shift of normal pension costs to actual employers.
