Illinois’s decision to delay payments to its pension fund because of a prolonged budget impasse is causing the state’s retirement system to take drastic measures, Bloomberg News reported on Friday. The Illinois State Employees’ Retirement System on Wednesday asked the Illinois State Board of Investment for $100 million on Nov. 10, and another $125 million on Dec. 10 to pay for retiree benefits in the next two months, according to Tim Blair, the system’s executive secretary. The request for cash from the investment board is the largest in the system’s history. The call comes one week after Comptroller Leslie Geissler Munger said Illinois’s $560 million November payment to its retirement funds would be delayed, and its December payment could also be postponed as the budget stalemate approaches a fifth month.
