evidence: Illinois Governor Pat Quinn recently said that during his trip to Washington for the National Governors Association meeting it was made clear to all governors present that they should be fully prepared for less money to come from the federal government than they were hoping for. [...] Lawmakers also decided to just 'stick a pin' in $3.7 billion worth of unfunded pension payments until after November elections. Apparently there's no need for incumbents to take a stand on where they think the $3.7 billion should come from. Borrow it at rates so high that interest payments will add an additional $1 billion to the bill? Or just take it out of the general fund and give the middle finger to every non-pensioned citizen who relies on public schools and state-sponsored social services? [...] These states have the most pressing problems, but there will be plenty of others that will feel the pain from recent economic volatility for years to come.