Skip to main content

Pension burden causes state finances to get thumbs-down

Pension burden causes state finances to get thumbs-down

Pension burden causes state finances to get thumbs-down

April 14, 2006

BY DAVE MCKINNEY Sun-Times Springfield Bureau Chief
Advertisement


SPRINGFIELD -- A leading Wall Street bond house Thursday issued a negative outlook toward the state government's finances because of concerns over the billions of dollars owed to Illinois' public pension systems.

The move by Fitch Ratings represents a jolt to Gov. Blagojevich as he tries to mold a 2007 state budget and fend off Republican Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka, who has made the state's precarious financial condition a cornerstone of her bid to unseat him this fall.

The state faces a $39 billion funding shortfall in its pension funds and, under a 1995 law, is committed to an ever-increasing schedule of payments that threatens to hamstring the next administration.

This year, $1.6 billion was diverted by the state to its pensions. In the 2008 budget year, the total that must be spent rises to $2.75 billion. And by 2010, the final year of the next governor's term, the state's annual pension commitment will reach $3.8 billion.

"Fitch believes that, barring a significant revenue increase or a substantial reduction in expenditures, Illinois will be unable to follow its own plan to contain the $39 billion unfunded pension liability," the firm wrote in a report issued Thursday.

"This intractable problem, including cash flow pressures, is apt to impair credit quality despite the breadth and wealth of the state's large economy," Fitch concluded, listing Illinois as one of only three states with such negative outlooks.

Blagojevich is destroying our economy and stealing my money!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Insulin Resistance- cause of ADD, diabetes, narcolepsy, etc etc

Insulin Resistance Insulin Resistance Have you been diagnosed with clinical depression? Heart disease? Type II, or adult, diabetes? Narcolepsy? Are you, or do you think you might be, an alcoholic? Do you gain weight around your middle in spite of faithfully dieting? Are you unable to lose weight? Does your child have ADHD? If you have any one of these symptoms, I wrote this article for you. Believe it or not, the same thing can cause all of the above symptoms. I am not a medical professional. I am not a nutritionist. The conclusions I have drawn from my own experience and observations are not rocket science. A diagnosis of clinical depression is as ordinary as the common cold today. Prescriptions for Prozac, Zoloft, Wellbutrin, etc., are written every day. Genuine clinical depression is a very serious condition caused by serotonin levels in the brain. I am not certain, however, that every diagnosis of depression is the real thing. My guess is that about 10 percent of the people taking
5 comments
Read more

Could Narcolepsy be caused by gluten? :: Kitchen Table Hypothesis

Kitchen Table Hypothesis from www.zombieinstitute.net - Heidi's new site It's commonly known that a severe allergy to peanuts can cause death within minutes. What if there were an allergy that were delayed for hours and caused people to fall asleep instead? That is what I believe is happening in people with Narcolepsy. Celiac disease is an allergy to gliadin, a specific gluten protein found in grains such as wheat, barley and rye. In celiac disease the IgA antigliadin antibody is produced after ingestion of gluten. It attacks the gluten, but also mistakenly binds to and creates an immune reaction in the cells of the small intestine causing severe damage. There is another form of gluten intolerance, Dermatitis Herpetiformis, in which the IgA antigliadin bind to proteins in the skin, causing blisters, itching and pain. This can occur without any signs of intestinal damage. Non-celiac gluten sensitivity is a similar autoimmune reaction to gliadin, however it usually involves the
19 comments
Read more

Blue-blocking Glasses To Improve Sleep And ADHD Symptoms Developed

Blue-blocking Glasses To Improve Sleep And ADHD Symptoms Developed Scientists at John Carroll University, working in its Lighting Innovations Institute, have developed an affordable accessory that appears to reduce the symptoms of ADHD. Their discovery also has also been shown to improve sleep patterns among people who have difficulty falling asleep. The John Carroll researchers have created glasses designed to block blue light, therefore altering a person's circadian rhythm, which leads to improvement in ADHD symptoms and sleep disorders. […] How the Glasses Work The individual puts on the glasses a couple of hours ahead of bedtime, advancing the circadian rhythm. The special glasses block the blue rays that cause a delay in the start of the flow of melatonin, the sleep hormone. Normally, melatonin flow doesn't begin until after the individual goes into darkness. Studies indicate that promoting the earlier release of melatonin results in a marked decline of ADHD symptoms. Bett
Post a Comment
Read more