Former state Rep. Elaine Nekritz (D-Northbrook) said Illinois voters are to blame for the state's pension funding crisis during a discussion posted on the Illinois Policy Institute's Facebook page.
"First of all, I'd say let's not fix the blame, let's fix the problem," Nekritz said, according to the posting. "I think we're all to blame. That includes the public who has not been engaged enough in this issue to push their elected officials to either fund (pensions) back in the '70s, '80s, or '90s, or to push solutions."
Nekritz stepped down in July 2017 after spending 14 years in Springfield after saying she didn't have the energy to fight the budget impasse anymore.
Elaine Nekritz
Neither Gov. Bruce Rauner or Democrat gubernatorial rival J.B. Pritzker have said much about the looming pension crisis, even though the pension minefield will likely dictate the success or failure of whichever of them is sworn in as governor next year.
Crain's Business Chicago reports that between 2004 and 2016, the state's unfunded pension liability quadrupled to $123.8 billion.
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