Illinois already has to pay up when the worst-rated state borrows money from Wall Street. Now, as the state kicks off a $45 billion capital spending plan, it will have to compete with a crowd of issuers flooding the $3.8 trillion municipal debt market trying to capture cheap rates.

What would you name the federal investigation of Illinois politicians? Operation Greased Palms? Operation Pocket Square? Operation Racket Hall? City of Rigged Shoulders (see what I did there)?

As the bull market enters its 11th year, state and local pension plans are piling on risk, as they try to make up shortfalls.

Public plans had a median 47.3% of their assets in U.S. equities at the end of the third quarter. That is more than they have had since 2007 and up from 44.1% a year earlier.