Illinois lawmakers: Stock drops no reason for pension worry
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Illinois lawmakers say stock market declines this year are not cause for immediate concern for the state's massively underfunded pension system.
Republican state Senate Leader Christine Radogno and Democratic Rep. Elaine Nekritz, an expert on the Illinois pension system, both say they're focused on long-term trends.
The first weeks of 2016 have seen the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 sharply fall.
Illinois Teachers Retirement System spokesman Dave Urbanek says it's not possible to know how much the pension fund has lost because losses or gains are not calculated on a daily basis.
Illinois has the nation's largest unfunded pension liability at $111 billion.