Lake County Gazette

Illinois State Rep. Martin McLaughlin (R-Barrington Hills) believes something needs to be done after a report found the state's retirement debt surpassed the $500 billion mark last year.

Wirepoints, an independent nonprofit organization that studies the state's economy and government, reported the state's pension shortfall reached $530 billion for the first time based on data that was analyzed from Moody's Investors Service debt estimates. 

"I said five years ago, pensions were twice what was being calculated. Part of the problem is the longevity plan associated with the program. People are living longer than the estimated mortality calculations," McLaughlin told the Lake County Gazette. 

McLaughlin pointed to all of the plans, which he said were off by a decade or more, that had miscalculated payments to go along with them in addition of a number of other issues that lead to the big debt problem. 

"The return assumptions have also been widely off. Plus the contributions have been too low and promising all these cost of living adjustments are unsustainable," he said. 

McLaughlin said something needs to be done to "get spending under control."

"We need independent professionals to get involved with politics for the good of the state and to help straighten things out," McLaughlin said. "There are more first-term people in Springfield now that fit the description, and we are doing this because we know the state needs to be fixed."

According to the Wirepoints report, the shortfall for Chicago and Cook County pensions and retiree health totaled around $122 billion.

The report also found that the state's retiree health insurance shortfalls came in at $55 billion, and noted taxpayers in the state are responsible for an average of $110,000 in government employee retirement debts, which is nearly $20,000 higher than it was three years ago, according to the analysis.