WSIU InFocus Video Player

Moody's Investment Service ranks Illinois' troubled pension system as the most under-funded state retirement plan in the country. Unless action is taken soon, Illinois $82-billion unfunded pension liability could grow to nearly $140 billion in 2030 because of years of chronic under-funding by state government. Jennifer Fuller talks with Bill Atwood, the executive director of the Illinois State Board of Investments, whose agency is responsible for the investment and management of billions of dollars in state pension assets. Atwood, a DuQuoin, Illinois native and SIU alumnus, believes the state is finally starting to turn the corner on fixing the situation, but more must be done to ensure that the state can meet its obligations to its pensioners. Atwood visited the SIU Carbondale campus on February 22, 2011 as part of the lecture series of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute.

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