Back in October, Chicago columnist James Warren wrote that on the subject of pensions, Illinois’ “solace is that hapless Rhode Island is in even worse shape.”

Since Warren penned those words, Rhode Island has passed the most sweeping pension overhaul in the nation, boosting its funded ratio from 48% to 60%. Illinois’ funded level, meanwhile, has dropped to 43%, and Bloomberg moved this story Monday (emphasis mine):

Illinois had its general-obligation bond rating reduced by Moody’s Investors Service to A2 from A1, making it the company’s lowest-graded U.S. state.

The downgrade to the sixth-highest rating came after a legislative session that “took no steps to implement lasting solutions to its severe pension under-funding or to its chronic bill payment delays,” Moody’s said in a report. Illinois, it said, has “weak management practices.”

Looks like Warren will have to seek solace somewhere else.

(photo: Alexander Gardner, via Wikipedia)