There were few surprises in Rockford Mayor Larry Morrissey's State of the City address Thursday, as Morrissey instead focused on what he sees are the biggest threats to Rockford's growth in the wake of the recession.

The largest, of course, is public pensions, those antiquated programs meant to provide for workers upon retirement that have been plaguing local governments across the country. The problem is particularly pernicious in Illinois, where decades of unfunded mandates at the state level have hobbled cities and school districts, leaving them holding one very expensive bag.

Particularly frustrating to Morrissey is the fact that there's nothing he can do about it. State government -- the same one that's been pandering to the public unions by throwing them little bones over the years and leaving it to municipal governments to find the money -- has to take up the issue. All Rockford can do is urge residents to call our state representatives.

But with Democrats in charge in Springfield, the odds of anyone in the political class finding the will to take on Big Labor are slim at best. Which means local governments continue to struggle under the weight of those obligations, which by any measure are hopelessly expensive.

Unfortunately for Rockford, there are no easy answers to the dilemma. And as the city -- and the state -- still suffering from the recession, no solutions look to be particularly forthcoming.

Annette LaCross is the business editor of the Register Star.