Rutherford: Budget cuts must include pensions

State Treasurer Dan Rutherford says pension reform must be addressed in next year's state budget. (WJBC file photo)

State Treasurer Dan Rutherford says he welcomes Governor Quinn’s plan to bring state spending back to 2008 levels, but he says any serious discussion about reigning in state spending must include pension reform.

Quinn is expected to include significant cuts and facility closures in his budget proposal on Wednesday, but there haven’t been many details.

“If we don’t get a handle on it, it doesn’t matter how many more tax increases and how many cuts you make to the state budget, the ballooning expenses in the state pension system will continue to eat up all of that revenue,” Rutherford said.

Rutherford unsure of College Illinois bailout

Rutherford says he’d have to study College Illinois’ financial prospects to determine whether the state’s prepaid tuition program should get a taxpayer funded bailout as it has requested.

Rutherford says any analysis would have to consider all options, including dissolving the program.

“I’m not advocating for this, but I think another part of the analysis for College Illinois is an analysis of what it would take to close the program down,” Rutherford said.

College Illinois, which is managed by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, has come under fire for risky investments, which have helped grow the program’s unfunded liability to about $560 million.

Click here to listen to Beth Whisman’s interview with Rutherford.

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Eric Stock can be reached at eric@wjbc.com.