Chicago Public Radio
In this "Eight Forty-Eight" segment about the proposed FY2008 budget, Civic Federation President Laurence Msall discusses issues surrounding the Governor's proposal to infuse cash into the State pension system through the sale of the Illinois Lottery and pension obligation bonds. Msall indicated that reducing the State's unfunded pension liabilities is a step in the right direction on Illinois' most intractable budget problem, but emphasized that attention must also be paid to the benefits side of the equation to bring State employees' very generous benefits packages more in line with the rest of Illinois workers.