Illinois’ comeback story starts here.

Illinois state pension debt climbs to $144B

Illinois state pension debt climbs to $144B

Illinois' unfunded statewide public pension liabilities grew another $1.5 billion in the past year. Better investment returns couldn’t keep up with public worker pensions growing faster than projected.

By LyLena Estabine

Brandi Lentz

Brandi Lentz

“My husband and I own a couple hundred acres. When I heard about the tax on wooded acreage going up, I emailed the assessor. My previous tax bill was $756. I found out that was going to go up over $10,000.” “What I’ve learned from [state Rep. Wayne] Rosenthal is that when this law passed...

Rafael Leon

Rafael Leon

The Chicago Metropolitan Housing Development Corp. started in 1982 as a government agency. Rafael Leon stepped in and restructured it as a non-profit in the mid-1990s. It is now independent of the government and provides low-income housing in parts of Chicago that other non-profit housing entities often overlook. “We’re not associated with the Chicago Housing...

Tom Sanderson

Tom Sanderson

“Sept. 19, I had to work late. And along the way back to my parking garage at Wells and Madison, I stopped at a 7-Eleven.” “There’s a guy on the ground there, panhandling. He asked me to get something for him and I said, ‘Sorry, I don’t have anything for you.’” “As I came back...