Apparently the Land of Lincoln is not so honest. On Monday the state of Illinois agreed to settle fraud charges by the SEC alleging that it deceived municipal-bond investors about how underfunded its pensions were. The SEC charged that while Illinois claimed market performance was the source of the underfunding, in reality the state created a system that diminished annual contributions through pension holidays and a mechanism called “ramp-ups,” making Illinois unable to meet future obligations. With the settlement, Illinois neither admitted nor denied the charges and has not been ordered to pay a penalty.
Read it at CNBC
