By SOPHIA TAREEN
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - Gov. Pat Quinn singled out Illinois' worst-in-the-nation pension problem as the most important issue of his governorship. Then he has watched deadline after self-imposed deadline evaporate with almost no progress.

The Chicago Democrat suffered perhaps the worst fallout from this week's lame-duck session which ended with no action on the $96 billion problem. That includes his last-ditch plan for a pension commission that wasn't called for a vote.

Now he must recover from the failure of not meeting his latest deadline while pensions remain on his plate and as Republicans angle for the 2014 governor's race and there are rumblings of a Democratic primary.

Quinn appeared to shrug it off.

He says deadlines are necessary but it's the long distance run that matters.
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