chanel
Silver Member
For the last few years, California stood more or less unchallenged as a symbol of the fiscal collapse of states during the recession. Now Illinois has shouldered to the fore, as its dysfunctional political class refuses to pay the states bills and refuses to take the painful steps cuts and tax increases to close a deficit of at least $12 billion, equal to nearly half the states budget.
Then there is the spectacularly mismanaged pension system, which is at least 50 percent underfunded and, analysts warn, could push Illinois into insolvency if the economy fails to pick up.
We are a fiscal poster child for what not to do, said Ralph Martire of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, a liberal-leaning policy group in Illinois. We make California look as if its run by penurious accountants who sit in rooms trying to put together an honest budget all day.
Each budget has gotten historically worse during this recession, said Laurence Msall, president of the Civic Federation, a policy research organization. Weve borrowed more and pushed larger unpaid bills into the future.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/03/b....html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&ei=5065&partner=MYWAY
Hmmm. Wonder if anyone in DC is paying attention to IL.