Wyatt earp
Diamond Member
- Apr 21, 2012
- 69,975
- 16,392
- 2,180
That God I left that high taxed hell hole years ago..
How Illinois became America's failed state
Illinois has compiled $14.6 billion in unpaid bills. It’s running a deficit of $6 billion and its pension liability has soared to $130 billion.
That’s not the worst of it. The state’s nearly two-year failure to pass a budget has sent its bond ratings careening toward junk level, downgraded a staggering eight notches below most other states.
With university enrollments plummeting, large-scale social service agencies shuttering and the Chicago Public Schools forced to borrow just to stay open through the end of this school year, Illinois is beginning to devolve into something like a banana republic — and it’s about to have the most expensive election the state has ever seen.
Democrats have flooded the primary to challenge GOP Gov. Bruce Rauner, with billionaire J.B. Pritzker among them. Pritzker has already poured $14 million into his campaign for a general election that’s still 15 months away.
“Illinois is operating in a way 49 other states would never try to operate,” said Laurence Msall, president of the Civic Federation, a non-partisan fiscal watchdog group. “There is permanent damage that is being done that will take decades to repair.”
What does the crisis all boil down to? It began with an ego-laden brawl between two powerful men: Rauner and Democratic House Speaker Mike Madigan. Rauner was elected in 2014 as the first Republican governor in Illinois in more than a decade, vowing to “shake up Springfield” in a campaign that demonized Madigan — the longest serving House speaker in state history — and targeted “corrupt union bosses.”
Upon taking office, Rauner, a multi-millionaire businessman, laid out a list of policy demands that initially included right to work elements, as a condition of signing a budget into law. Rauner wanted changes to laws affecting workers compensation, collective bargaining and state property taxes, among others. Democrats considered the agenda an attack on unions, which the governor had vilified, saying they had too much power in Illinois politics. Rauner called the measures pro-business, and necessary to address decades of financial mismanagement.
But Madigan, who has served as speaker under governors from both political parties, was loathe to condition the passage of a budget on the governor’s political agenda. Each side dug in, with unions rushing behind Madigan and Republicans, tired of being shut out for years by Madigan and thrilled to have a generous donor to their campaigns in the governor’s office, lined up behind Rauner
How Illinois became America's failed state
Illinois has compiled $14.6 billion in unpaid bills. It’s running a deficit of $6 billion and its pension liability has soared to $130 billion.
That’s not the worst of it. The state’s nearly two-year failure to pass a budget has sent its bond ratings careening toward junk level, downgraded a staggering eight notches below most other states.
With university enrollments plummeting, large-scale social service agencies shuttering and the Chicago Public Schools forced to borrow just to stay open through the end of this school year, Illinois is beginning to devolve into something like a banana republic — and it’s about to have the most expensive election the state has ever seen.
Democrats have flooded the primary to challenge GOP Gov. Bruce Rauner, with billionaire J.B. Pritzker among them. Pritzker has already poured $14 million into his campaign for a general election that’s still 15 months away.
“Illinois is operating in a way 49 other states would never try to operate,” said Laurence Msall, president of the Civic Federation, a non-partisan fiscal watchdog group. “There is permanent damage that is being done that will take decades to repair.”
What does the crisis all boil down to? It began with an ego-laden brawl between two powerful men: Rauner and Democratic House Speaker Mike Madigan. Rauner was elected in 2014 as the first Republican governor in Illinois in more than a decade, vowing to “shake up Springfield” in a campaign that demonized Madigan — the longest serving House speaker in state history — and targeted “corrupt union bosses.”
Upon taking office, Rauner, a multi-millionaire businessman, laid out a list of policy demands that initially included right to work elements, as a condition of signing a budget into law. Rauner wanted changes to laws affecting workers compensation, collective bargaining and state property taxes, among others. Democrats considered the agenda an attack on unions, which the governor had vilified, saying they had too much power in Illinois politics. Rauner called the measures pro-business, and necessary to address decades of financial mismanagement.
But Madigan, who has served as speaker under governors from both political parties, was loathe to condition the passage of a budget on the governor’s political agenda. Each side dug in, with unions rushing behind Madigan and Republicans, tired of being shut out for years by Madigan and thrilled to have a generous donor to their campaigns in the governor’s office, lined up behind Rauner