Report: Illinois is Hiding Billions More in Retirement Debt

In the wake of the Illinois Supreme Court’s pension reform decision, a new analysis by Truth in Accounting found only 25 percent of the state’s retirement debt is being reported.

As TIA notes, the state government uses archaic accounting methods and “the vast majority of liabilities are excluded from its financial reporting.”

After sifting through all of the hidden debt, TIA researchers discovered the total amount Illinois owes is much higher than what has been previously disclosed.

You can view TIA’s report here, along with the amount of hidden retirement debt they uncovered and how much Illinois actually owes. TIA also lists several factors that have played major roles in the state’s pension crisis.

And the city of Chicago was on the receiving end of more bad news as Moody’s downgraded the city’s credit rating to “junk” status – the same rating Detroit had when the municipality filed for bankruptcy in 2013. For more on this and Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s reaction, go to Reboot Illinois.

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