"The more I read about state and local government pensions in Illinois, the worse it gets. Many municipal police and fire pension funds are so woefully underfunded, for example, that they are likely to go up in smoke in not-too-many years.
The basic problem with all underfunded government pensions is that elected officials like to do things for people, especially things that don't have any immediate political cost, that is, don't absolutely require current payment for a deferred benefit.
As many readers know, the Illinois state government pension funds are the worst financed in the nation. Bank giant J.P. Morgan projects that the state will have to devote 40 percent of all its revenues for years to come in order to bring the funds up to self-sufficiency and also cover retiree health benefits.
For many municipal police and fire pension funds the situation is even worse. And because cities are somewhat limited in how they can raise revenue, many of these funds are almost certain to go belly up at some point."
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