Following the downgrade of Illinois’s debt by a second credit rating agency, governor Patrick Quinn called for a special legislative session to address the state’s nearly US$100 billion in unfunded pension liabilities.
Quinn has scheduled the session for June 19.
The announcement came on Thursday, the same day on which Moody’s cut Illinois’s debt rating. Fitch cut the state’s credit rating earlier this week.
“The legislature’s political paralysis to date shows not only the magnitude of Illinois’s unfunded benefit liabilities, but also the legal and political hurdles to legislation that would make pensions more manageable long term,” says a statement from Moody’s.
Last week, lawmakers were unable to agree on a solution to the pension crisis before going on their summer break.
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