Emanuel Again Calls On Springfield To Help City Fix Its Finances

(CBS) -- Mayor Rahm Emanuel says the city of Chicago is doing what it can to resolve its debt problems, but action from Springfield is still vital.

WBBM Political Editor Craig Dellimore reports from City Hall.

Mayor Emanuel says the city helped its own situation by refinancing $674 million of variable-rate debt.

But he adds the city needs the legislature and Gov. Bruce Rauner to approve solutions, too. The Emanuel administration, for example, is counting on revenue from a Chicago casino to help close the gap.

As for CPS, Emanuel says half of the Chicago Public Schools pension debt of $1 billion is because Springfield allowed the school system to skip making teacher pension payments for nearly a decade.

So, the mayor says, CPS can't dig its way out of that hole all on its own, either.

In:
• Craig Dellimore