April 23 (Bloomberg) — It's decision time in Chicago, the moment to rescue sinking pensions that could pull the city under. And nothing is happening.

Two weeks after Illinois lawmakers approved a bill to help stabilize two of the city's four municipal retirement systems, Governor Pat Quinn hasn't said whether he'll sign it. City Council members, a year from re-election campaigns, are balking at delivering their part of the deal — a $750 million property- tax increase.

A recovery effort championed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who in 2011 succeeded 22-year incumbent Richard M. Daley, is imperiled as almost $20 billion in unfunded pension promises burden the nation's third-most-populous city. Chicago's credit rating has been cut four times since July to three steps above junk.

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