© 2024 WNIJ and WNIU
Northern Public Radio
801 N 1st St.
DeKalb, IL 60115
815-753-9000
Northern Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Pension Crisis? Depends Who You Ask

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn disputes a fellow top Democrat's statements that the state's $100 billion pension shortfall is not a crisis. Senate President John Cullerton said the  shortfall is not an "imminent" crisis, but finding a solution can keep the state's income taxes down. Quinn has a different perspective:

"I think it is a matter of extreme emergency. It's urgent -- whatever word you want to use," Quinn said.

Quinn says there's opportunity for lawmakers to solve the problem in the next few weeks. A bipartisan committee has spent months working on a pension overhaul, but committee members are split over a plan that saves $138 billion over three decades.