In the wake of a recent report that ranks Illinois third worst in the country at pension-plan funding, state Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-Geneva) fears the worst is yet to come.
“What I fear is going to happen is one of these days a pension plan is going to go bankrupt in Illinois and then it’ll be dominoes,” Caulkins told the Chambana Sun. “I guess what it’s going to take to solve the pension problem is when the people in line to get a pension or the people already getting a pension figure out if we don’t make some serious changes, if we don’t reform the system, there may not be a pension for them.”
The Tax Foundation report concludes that Illinois now funds public pensions at just 38 percent to rank No. 48 in the country, ahead of only New Jersey and Kentucky. According to The Center Square, the percentage was calculated by comparing the market value of the pension fund’s assets to its accrued pension liabilities, with analysis based on data released by the Pew Charitable Trusts.
Illinois state Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-Geneva)
“It’s in their own self-interest,” Caulkins said of the state's pensioners. “Unless the people of Illinois rise up and elect Republicans who are willing to tackle this problem, I think it’s going to take the people in line for pensions to realize if we don’t figure this out, it may not be here for any of us.”
Caulkins said the only thing about the report that surprises him is that Illinois was not ranked even lower.
“It talks about priorities,” Caulkins said. “I tell my friends in Springfield, 'Show me your budget and I’ll show you what your priorities are.' People are voting with their feet. They’re seeing the corruption; they’re seeing how their money is being spent, and they’re not going to put up with it. They’re leaving and going somewhere where they get their money’s worth.”
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