While state leaders haggle over next year's budget, Illinois' $111 billion unfunded pension liabilty remains the elephant in the room.  Don Boyd is a senior fellow at the Rockefeller Institute in Albany, New York, and studies state finance with a focus on pensions.  Boyd spoke with Morning Edition Host Brian Moline about the causes of the shortfall and some possible solutions.

Even though John Cullerton went along with the pension law that on Friday was found by the state's high court to be unconstitutional ... the Illinois Senate President had always favored another approach.  The Senate's top Democrat told Amanda Vinicky he plans to try again.

The Illinois Supreme Court ruled that the state's pension reform law violates a provision in the state constitution that bars pension benefits for employees of state and local governments and school districts from being "diminished or impaired"

There's a reason analysts say Illinois has the nation's lowest credit rating. It has the nation's largest unfunded pension liability. A 2013 law that’s facing a challenge before the Illinois Supreme Court is intended to help. What affect will a court ruling have on the state's credit worthiness?