The Chicago Tribune chronicles an astonishing list of academics who have received huge payouts from Illinois state-owned institutions of higher education or remained collecting six-figure salaries after losing their jobs.

This is not the first appropriation-secured bond issue to run into the failure-to-appropriate issue. For example, Lombard, Illinois failed to fund an appropriation for debt issued through its Public Facilities Corporation for a hotel and conference center. In that case as well, the rating agencies were swift to act. Moody’s withdrew its rating; Standard & Poor’s dropped Lombard’s rating down to a speculative grade B.

Comment in an email from a reader: “It pays to be a screw-up in Illinois.”