In New Jersey, as well as places like Illinois and Connecticut, some expectation likely exists that federal help, in some form, will be needed to bridge pension gaps, according to Bill Bergman, director of research at Chicago-based Truth in Accounting (TIA). Washington, however, appears to have little appetite for that judging from a recently introduced US Senate bill that would prevent federal dollars from being used for state bailouts, Bergman said. However, time will tell if states and cities threatened by bad financial conditions end up prevailing in Washington, he said.