“Then you have to still pay their pension. The state of IL can not declare bankruptcy.”
The problem here in IL is that all these pensions are guaranteed under the Illinois Constitution. They cannot be “diminished or impaired” by the State. Federal bankruptcy is the only way out for a municipality.
Chicago is pretty much at Junk status now. The State will not be far behind.
As I said earlier, when the wheels come off it’s going to be spectacular.
L
A constitutional amendment can undo that, but good luck getting that done.
Florida & SC are full of people from NJ, NY, MA, IL, MI all living off of their state government pension checks from their former northern states.
I knew a guy who worked at the lumber yard in the Chicago area. He bailed out last year for Florida as soon as his wife’s teachers pension kicked in. He was never coming back.