How the Pritzker Adm Looks to Rescue Illinois’ Broken Finances & Lower Pension Debt

From the City Club of Chicago, February 14, 2019 – , Deputy Governor Dan Hynes, who served 8 years as the Comptroller of Illinois, gives some of the specific steps the Pritzker administration is looking to take in order to fix Illinois’ finances. In his address, Hynes gives a sneak peak at some of the proposals the Governor will include in his first Budget Address to be delivered on February 20th.

Dan Hynes in very familiar with the Illinois budget, and with the deepening crisis within the state, as the pension debt exploded over the last 25 years, and is consuming more and more of the state’s operating budget. That rise in pension costs, with pension payments going from 5% in 2002 to over 20% in 2019, means less for education, healthcare and law enforcement.

Some critics say its impossible to repair and the state will have to cut pension payments. Dan Hynes says that’s not the approach that will work, but offers a series of planned steps that he argues will return the state to a solid financial foundation.