Catherwood LibraryILR School

As Illinois works to make up a huge budget deficit, one tactic is drawing notice from the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC is examining Illinois's pension system to see if the state has misled bond investors. Illinois, has proposed offering a $3.7 billion bond that would help them to make up their pension deficit. The state has been underfunding the pension system for over a decade, and is facing a huge deficit. To curb pension costs, the state has cut pensions for future employees, who have not been hired. In anticipation of those lower pension costs, the state is not paying as much into their pension system. However, some feel that the method that Illinois is using will weaken the pension fund, especially because of the issues Illinois already faces.