Sangamon Sun

Illinois’ long troubled finances will be front and center when lawmakers reconvene in Springfield this month.

Senate Minority Leader Dan McConchie (R-Hawthorn Woods) told The Center Square Republicans will continue to push for the kind of changes they have long argued are needed to cap government spending.

“We’re going to talk about pension reform, we’re going to be talking about Medicaid reform, we’re going to be talking about group health insurance, a myriad of other things that we believe are fundamentally necessary to get our budget back on track,” he said.

One of the biggest drivers of all the state’s debt continues to be pension costs, with unfunded liabilities now estimated to be as high as $140 billion.

“Actually doing this hard work of getting the out-of-control pensions and stuff under control is what it is that is going to take to have people say ‘Illinois is a place that we want to go and establish roots,’” McConchie added.

Even Senate President Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) agrees, recently telling the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute that in order to reverse mounting population losses the state has to address its fiscal issues, including the pension liability.