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But the money devoted to the plan was insufficient, and in the past 18 years the shortfall has grown by nearly five times, exacerbated by a two-year "pension holiday" agreed to by former Gov. Rod Blagojevich and lawmakers, who cut pension payments in 2005 and 2006 by a combined $2.3 billion. None of this was adequately explained in bond-sale documents, the SEC claimed. Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno said Monday it was her caucus that sounded the alarm, filing a complaint with the SEC in 2005 that claimed the Blagojevich administration, in selling $300 million in bonds in fall 2005, overstated the savings expected from pension reforms. Blagojevich claimed the savings would be $3 billion, while a bipartisan financial forecasting agency of the Legislature provided several scenarios in which the result of the changes could range from savings of $3 billion to additional costs of $4.7 billion. Blagojevich was later sent to prison on unrelated corruption charges. "Our work to expose these deceptive practices led to corrective action and improved disclosure," Radogno said in a statement Monday. "We continue to be a watchdog for the taxpayer and demand sound financial management practices, including a resolution to our pension crisis." ____ Online: SEC order: http://tinyurl.com/a238oae
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