Kelly Kraft, deputy director of the Governor's Office of Management and Budget, said Tuesday that the idea of the state transferring teacher pension payments it makes to individual school districts and universities is a just a "concept" right now.

This throws cold water on a proposal that gained momentum over the last week: that Illinois can partially deal with unfunded pension obligations by making school districts and universities pay teachers' pensions. Speaker of the House Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) mentioned the idea at a speech last week at Elmhurst College.

Currently, Chicago Public Schools pay their teachers' pensions, but other school districts and public universities rely on the state for pension payments.