Until Illinois starts creates legislation that prohibits the extortion of citizen's tax dollars for the purpose of shoring up it's public sector demands, they have no hope. The teachers alone are bankrupting the state - just look at the corruption in and around Chicago! Laws were passed to make it illegal to game the system, but they are not enforced. Why? Because public administrators police themselves!!! IN the last few years of employment, teachers and school board employees pad their hours with overtime, all approved by their superiors doing the same thing. They retire with full time pay for life (in some cases more) AND then they double dip by getting another job in the system.
NO!!! I will not let tax dollars go to this corrupt state. It has been corrupt for years, and democrat for years too. Hmmmm.
NO!!! I will not let tax dollars go to this corrupt state. It has been corrupt for years, and democrat for years too. Hmmmm.
20
Time for the Illinois democrats to act like the adults and create a plan which will work. Not paying schools and contractors is nearly criminal. The governor is a dunce, so work around him and stop making the people of Illinois suffer.
4
Gov. Rauner has held everything hostage to his ALEC cookie-cutter agenda: anti-union, anti-worker, anti-poor, anti-tax and pro-corporate. No right-to-work (a misnomer!) laws? No budget.
It’s not just the roads, colleges, transit, lottery winners and social welfare recipients who are being punished: small businesses (even Mom & Pop shops) who contracted with the State, and doctors (including small practices already operating on a shoestring) & facilities who treat Medicaid patients are being stiffed like never before. Bad enough that insurers (already deprived of ACA risk-corridor indemnity payments, courtesy of Rubio et al in the GOP Congress) are dropping out of entire counties; those that remain—including Medicare Part B carriers are kicking hundreds of providers out of the HMO networks into which they’re forcing their insureds.
I am a former IL Asst. A.G. in the Court of Claims Div. 35 yrs. ago, we routinely handled “lapsed appropriation” claims by businesses & individuals who got stiffed when the legislature kicked the fiscal can down the road and forced claimants to sue to get paid. But the special fund to pay them existed, and we made sure they got paid after they jumped through the right hoops. Rauner has succeeded in burning the hoops and eliminating that fund.
Gee—is stiffing people you’d promised to pay a job requirement for Republican Chief Execs with no prior government experience?
It’s not just the roads, colleges, transit, lottery winners and social welfare recipients who are being punished: small businesses (even Mom & Pop shops) who contracted with the State, and doctors (including small practices already operating on a shoestring) & facilities who treat Medicaid patients are being stiffed like never before. Bad enough that insurers (already deprived of ACA risk-corridor indemnity payments, courtesy of Rubio et al in the GOP Congress) are dropping out of entire counties; those that remain—including Medicare Part B carriers are kicking hundreds of providers out of the HMO networks into which they’re forcing their insureds.
I am a former IL Asst. A.G. in the Court of Claims Div. 35 yrs. ago, we routinely handled “lapsed appropriation” claims by businesses & individuals who got stiffed when the legislature kicked the fiscal can down the road and forced claimants to sue to get paid. But the special fund to pay them existed, and we made sure they got paid after they jumped through the right hoops. Rauner has succeeded in burning the hoops and eliminating that fund.
Gee—is stiffing people you’d promised to pay a job requirement for Republican Chief Execs with no prior government experience?
18
Every article of this nature in the Times brings out the crowd whose favorite mantra is "Reagan started this hatred of government" or some such variation. Inherent in these comments is, of course, that he was dead wrong, and, conversely that ALL government spending is good, wise, prudent and absolutely needed. If a bureacrat somewhere says his/her agency or department needs more money (never the same as the prior year, but an increase) then you, dear taxpayer, had better not doubt or question it or call for accountability or frugality or thrift or anything of the like.
It's absurd and tiresome.
It's absurd and tiresome.
19
Rauner and Steve Bannon have the exact same views, their goal is to bring about the deconstruction of the administrative state by any means necessary.
6
Considering the fact that the failings of the bloated administrative state are now on display in Illinois for all to see, I'd say deconstructing it is a wise plan.
16
Any resident who can move should. I've met Illinois state pensioners out west who are happy they are not going to be left holding the bag.
2
Those pensioners might be happy now, but when Illinois goes bankrupt they won't be holding onto any pension bag money at all.
8
Do your homework. Illinois entirely exempts taxes on retirement income--no other state does this. You can have $1 million, or more, in pension, IRA and the like in annual income and Illinois won't take a penny. Meanwhile, everyone else picks up the slack with the highest property taxes in the nation and a regressive income tax.
So tell your friends to enjoy it while they can. At some point, this turnip is going to run out of blood.
So tell your friends to enjoy it while they can. At some point, this turnip is going to run out of blood.
11
American politics have been swallowed by the swamp of big money interests. The majority of politicians cannot get into office without selling their soul to one lobby or another. Empty slogans (Freedom! MAGA!) now masquerade as policies and provide cover for the gradual dismantling of the state.
For those of us watching in horror from abroad, it seems that America's seemingly innate desire to be the "greatest" is a key reason for this decline. Why try to learn from anyone else, why compromise with those you disagree with, why look too hard in the mirror if you are convinced that your nation is already the best it can be?
Everyone seems to have forgotten that you have to pass through 'good' to get to 'great'. I fear for your nation and I fear for what the fallout will mean for the rest of us.
For those of us watching in horror from abroad, it seems that America's seemingly innate desire to be the "greatest" is a key reason for this decline. Why try to learn from anyone else, why compromise with those you disagree with, why look too hard in the mirror if you are convinced that your nation is already the best it can be?
Everyone seems to have forgotten that you have to pass through 'good' to get to 'great'. I fear for your nation and I fear for what the fallout will mean for the rest of us.
5
Does Illinois need 13 million people? Isn't it irresponsible to have too many people to serve and take care of if enough funding isn't available or won't be made available (because of obscene hoarding at the wealthiest echelons)? The people of Illinois need to decide what their priorities are and vote accordingly. If they want more funding, they have to go after where the money is. If they want people not to pay for services, they have to stop adding to the overpopulation problem.
3
"Obscene hoarding"? Really? In your leftist fantasy world, do you somehow envision piles of cash lying in the street, and "greedy corporatists" who simply grabbed most of it for themselves, denying everyone else "their share?"
What nonsense. Those who make more than others generally have worked hard for it, and in most cases have employed numerous others in the process. That's a GOOD thing, for future reference. Freedom (you know, that American concept that was supplanted by the leftist impulse for government to control everything) naturally results in income and wealth inequality, because it provides individuals the opportunity to succeed or fail on their own merits and ambition. If a society does not create disparate financial outcomes, then that is a clear indicator that it provides little to no freedom. Communist dictatorships produce income equality, but all that means is that everyone is equally destitute. Yet this is what the left would prescribe for us.
No thanks.
What nonsense. Those who make more than others generally have worked hard for it, and in most cases have employed numerous others in the process. That's a GOOD thing, for future reference. Freedom (you know, that American concept that was supplanted by the leftist impulse for government to control everything) naturally results in income and wealth inequality, because it provides individuals the opportunity to succeed or fail on their own merits and ambition. If a society does not create disparate financial outcomes, then that is a clear indicator that it provides little to no freedom. Communist dictatorships produce income equality, but all that means is that everyone is equally destitute. Yet this is what the left would prescribe for us.
No thanks.
15
While the IL income tax rate is about average (3.75%) the effective tax rate is the highest in the country. It is a shame the rest of the state needs to pay for the corruption in the major cities. The right thing to do would be to implement a county tax. Let the rich overspending counties pay their fair share instead of taxing the rest of the state for the mismanagement in Chicago. Of course, it's great to be a liberal Chicagoan until you get your 8% county tax. Then they all want to move to the better run Republican counties.
5
If only Blagojevic had succeeded in selling Obama's Senate seat, we wouldn't be in this pickle. Or maybe if Ryan could have continued to sell driver's licenses, we'd have more money in the coffers. See what happens when you mess with a free market?
5
A quick way to remedy the money deficit is to impose a tax on all the U-Haul's driving families' entire belongings OUT of state.
7
Hands down, Illinois takes the prize for the most dysfunctional and corrupt state in the nation. With skyhigh property taxes and overreliance on a flat, regressive income tax, the middle class are getting killed economically. There are no taxes on services. Retirement income is entirely exempted from taxation, no matter how much money is involved. Pension costs are out of control. Somebody has to pay for this, and the hurt is concentrated in the middle. And there is no way to fix it. There is no power of referendum, initiative or recall, and so these clowns that caused the problem have lifetime jobs. If you want to see government run amok, go to Ilinois. It is a horribly ugly picture.
15
The Chicago Public Schools is paying $70,000 daily in interest on an emergency loan to keep teachers paid, lights on, kids fed. The State has to offer extra-high interest rate bonds because our credit rating is shattered - even though our State could never actually default on these. How will all these extra expenses ultimately be paid except by raising taxes in the future? And, who is ultimately reaping the largess of our State's bloated finance charges other than mega-millionaire Governor Rauner's mega-millionaire banking and hedge fund cronies? Once again, the middle class will take the hit while we transfer more money from those of us who actually work for a living to the ultra-rich. This is the only true republican policy goal. Well played, Mr. Rauner, well played.
6
"Bruce Rauner, a multimillionaire who had never held elective office, was elected governor in 2014 on a pledge of upending an entrenched Democratic Legislature by cutting spending, weakening unions..." He tried to do it through tax cuts for the rich, and cuts of education and health for everyone else. Sound familiar? Schools like Chicago State, the only option college for lots of low-income students who graduate and go on to tax-paying careers are being forced into near bankruptcy. What kind of society do these millionaire political hobbyists envision for the rest of us?
11
This has nothing to do with Reagan. It is the result of socialist policies that give everyone what they want instead of figuring out if it can be paid for. Just a vote gathering scam as old as Tammany hall. Except they gave free beer and lunches, Dems give you whatever you want; they just can't pay for it. More of what isn't working will continue to not work. Duh!!!!
12
Both parties are one and the same. It is getting more and more vile to read about your sinking republic and the meaningless blame on both sides of the right wing spectrum. A pox on all their houses.
2
This article is remiss for not mentioning how Illinois attempts to gather revenue to fund the state government. What is the state sales tax, and how does it compare to others? How does the state income tax compare, how progressive or regressive is it? How do corporate taxes and property taxes stack up? Special taxes on tobacco and alcohol that are higher or lower than other states?
Lots of human interest angles like which groups are being negatively impacted. But analysis and number crunching, not so much.
Lots of human interest angles like which groups are being negatively impacted. But analysis and number crunching, not so much.
10
Please recall that "It takes two to make peace, one to make war." That is, it only takes one party to force a stalemate.
It is really too bad that state governments cannot go into receivership.
Reagan started this with his anti-government ideology mantras. Makes you wonder, is democracy truly a good idea? If it is, how can it actually work effectively?
The defunding of schools is the defunding of human intellectual development. There is no short-term fix for what we are in. Good luck to Illinois; it is a harbinger of what we are all facing with our national and state governments.
Reagan started this with his anti-government ideology mantras. Makes you wonder, is democracy truly a good idea? If it is, how can it actually work effectively?
The defunding of schools is the defunding of human intellectual development. There is no short-term fix for what we are in. Good luck to Illinois; it is a harbinger of what we are all facing with our national and state governments.
15
It illustrates why Government shouldn't be trusted with education and health care. Open markets can fix this. Easy.
6
Typical. You say Madigan objects to the "budget" being attached to Rauner's proposals. Wrong. A balanced budget here cannot be written without an increase in taxes. Madigan objects to the tax hikes being contingent on Rauner's proposals. The democrats are happy to tax, but not to reform. Also, Illinois has a constitutional flat tax, the most regressive tax that exists.
14
What's interesting about the level of dysfunction is that we are also there in the US Congress. One would hope that once the dysfunction reached such a distructive level, people from both sides with enough in common to see the disaster clearly would come together to potentially rebalance the vote count in addressing issues. I think of healthcare on the national level. Republicans have such extremes in their own party that there looks to be no way McConnel can bring enough of them together to get the votes he needs in his own party. If I were a moderate Republican who is from a state that expanded Medicaid and does not ant to see people put at risk by taking it away, I would be inclined to seek Democrats to work with to repair the problems with the ACA. I am hopeful that might yet happen, but the story of Illinois shows that my hopes may be a pipe dream. AS McCain said recently, pigs might fly, too.
4
If government cannot manage the money we pay it in taxes, maybe we should pay less of our money in taxes and manage more of it ourselves.
The US debt is $19,000,000,000,000.
The US debt is $19,000,000,000,000.
10
Russ: Your statement seems logical, but it actually doesn't work that way because government's job is to provide for the welfare of the nation and its people. Infrastructure, balancing out power that is abusive, creating laws, enforcing them, litigating when needed. Regulating and prosecuting fraud, etc.
We absolutely need taxes, and we need government. What we don't need is to be absent a way to address these impasses.
It is critical that we look around the world and see what nations are functioning well, and by what criteria. Scandinavian countries have the highest happiness indexes. And the highest taxes. Why is that?
Well, culturally, they do not show off and try to become better than others, and flaunt it. They discourage this. People understand that vibrancy happens when everyone is able to make ends meet.
THis replicates a study done in the 1970s and 1980s in three New England communities. The one community that also discouraged shows of wealth, and had many clubs and activities for people to do together, and which was characterized by people stopping and talking to each other on the street en route to their...whatever...had the lowest cardiovascular disease. BY FAR.
We need collectives because we are social beings. Government can foster this by providing infrastructure and laws and enforcement. People do it by demanding that others among them are treated as well as themselves.
We absolutely need taxes, and we need government. What we don't need is to be absent a way to address these impasses.
It is critical that we look around the world and see what nations are functioning well, and by what criteria. Scandinavian countries have the highest happiness indexes. And the highest taxes. Why is that?
Well, culturally, they do not show off and try to become better than others, and flaunt it. They discourage this. People understand that vibrancy happens when everyone is able to make ends meet.
THis replicates a study done in the 1970s and 1980s in three New England communities. The one community that also discouraged shows of wealth, and had many clubs and activities for people to do together, and which was characterized by people stopping and talking to each other on the street en route to their...whatever...had the lowest cardiovascular disease. BY FAR.
We need collectives because we are social beings. Government can foster this by providing infrastructure and laws and enforcement. People do it by demanding that others among them are treated as well as themselves.
4
Please note that, as mentioned elsewhere, Illinois has a state constitution mandated flat tax. That flat tax makes it hard to balance a budget too, and is probably a major road block. You are beating the wrong dead horse due to the Illinois flat tax.
I shudder to think what would happen in my state or to the federal government if they had mandated flat taxes.
I shudder to think what would happen in my state or to the federal government if they had mandated flat taxes.
3
US consumer debt is nearing $13 trillion and is now higher than it was in 2008 (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/17/business/dealbook/household-debt-unit....
Debt isn't just a fault of our government, it's very much ingrained in our culture. It's also an economic reality (although this level of debt is certainly not necessary). Would Americans use tax savings to pay off their consumer debt? I just don't see it happening without a drastic shift in how we handle money as a nation and unfortunately such shifts only seem to happen as the result of a major financial crisis.
Debt isn't just a fault of our government, it's very much ingrained in our culture. It's also an economic reality (although this level of debt is certainly not necessary). Would Americans use tax savings to pay off their consumer debt? I just don't see it happening without a drastic shift in how we handle money as a nation and unfortunately such shifts only seem to happen as the result of a major financial crisis.
The American Enterprise Institute, not my usual go to spot for objective analysis, did an exhaustive study regarding government worker pay vs. the private sector. It is unfortunate we have to rely on a rightish think tank for this study, but the Democrats refuse to address the issue.
However, the evidence is very clear, government worker pay in deep blue states is far higher than the private sector, and is crippling government.
https://www.aei.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/-biggs-overpaid-or-underp...
Page 62 boils it all down, deep blue states' government unions and highly paid bureaucrats are driving a fiscal crisis, with pay as high as 42% higher than the private sector. It is now a choice between The Grapes of Wrath republicans who feed the rich, and the Animal Farm democrats who feed themselves. The rest of us are here to fund their lifestyles.
History says we are reaching an unsustainable inflection point of income/wealth inequality on the one hand, and Venezuelan style socialism government on the other. Take your pick, red state/blue state are both failing.
However, the evidence is very clear, government worker pay in deep blue states is far higher than the private sector, and is crippling government.
https://www.aei.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/-biggs-overpaid-or-underp...
Page 62 boils it all down, deep blue states' government unions and highly paid bureaucrats are driving a fiscal crisis, with pay as high as 42% higher than the private sector. It is now a choice between The Grapes of Wrath republicans who feed the rich, and the Animal Farm democrats who feed themselves. The rest of us are here to fund their lifestyles.
History says we are reaching an unsustainable inflection point of income/wealth inequality on the one hand, and Venezuelan style socialism government on the other. Take your pick, red state/blue state are both failing.
13
Not true. Blue states generally pay more in taxes than red states, and take less federal government money.
I can't let you get away with this canard, Mike G. Readers need to know that Figure 1 on page 62 of the American Enterprise Institute analysis you cite actually shows NEGATIVE differentials (as much as -21%) for state employee wages versus private sector employees. The number turns positive only when you include benefits such as health insurance and promised pension contributions (which are NOT occurring in Illinois, by the way) and are not apparent in one's take home pay. Public employees consciously make the decision to forgo private sector wages in favor of future benefits for health care and pensions that are increasingly under attack by conservatives. Illinois would not be in the straits it is if both republican and democratic politicians HAD contributed to the state pension funds from the beginning. AEI also uses "non-pecuniary" factors to adjust public employee wages that produce a highly artificial total compensation differential, and even then they are only able to produce a positive number for less educated wage earners. Public employees with professional doctorates or PhDs have compensation differentials of minus 17% and minus 18% respectively (page 60). The average pension benefit for state and local government employees in 2014, by the way, was $26,455...more like chicken feed than an "Animal Farm" lifestyle. https://www.teacherpensions.org/blog/map-average-pension-retired-state-a...
4
I'm just not sure that I would trust the source of that study. Would be nice to have a study from an entity without an obvious political agenda.
2
To those individuals who worry that state employees are getting paid a lot less than CEO's . You should go back to the ninth grade and this time pay attention to what is being said. State employees are paid by taxpayers. CEO's are paid by private business. When you keep using state funds for politics instead of doing the job you were elected to do, you will run out of money. Laws need to be changed. Set term limits on all elected positions is a good way to get things started.
13
Insane CEO pay is a huge part of the rigged corporatocracy that is the U.S.A.
3
The problem is not a short-term political stand-off, as the article suggests. The problem is decades of over-spending and under-taxing by politicians of every stripe. Eventually the bills come due. And no, there will never, ever be a need for a "federal bailout" of Illinois. The state economy produces plenty of money. It just doesn't produce politicians willing to be honest with voters about what things cost.
18
And they have a flat tax...
3
Durbin states that the impasse has been cleverly designed to protect the middle classes as if that's a bad thing. Oh! The effrontery if it all! Those terrible middle class Americans again. Let's forget the top quintile and attack the true middle classes. That's what she's saying and that's I will support this impasse until either the State is broken or the Democrats are swept from power. If Cook County is any crystal ball into the future, those bigots want to destroy us and all we have is the wretched Republican party between us and over taxation. Democracy in America has certainly been a dismal failure. Those damned middle classes!
3
Clearly,, the solution to the Illinois budget meltdown would be to aggressively import more refugees. Refugees from Somalia are needed. Their rich, diverse, muslim communal culture may well be the financial solution to Illinois woes. I'm sure Lutheran Social Services and Catholic Charities can play a role in the massive refugee effort. After all, these (and other) organizations have done so much to change the face of a land once known as America..
6
Downstate Illinois is disgusted with the big city politics draining the state dry. They would probably all move to another state except for the fact that many are farmers and their land is their livelihood. Take a vote of all those in favor of kicking Chicago out of Illinois - The non-Chicagooan vote would be an overwhelming thumbs up.
9
We also can't move to another state because we either can't sell our houses at all or must accept tremendous losses when we do sell them due to the depressed housing market down here.
1
kick out Chicago and the collar counties and what your are left with is Northern Mississippi.
2
Big surprise: Republican Governor + Idealogically rigid, obstructionist bomb throwing GOP state house = Budget problems.
Look to California for the solution. We booted out the Republican squaters with a non-partisan commission that drew fair lines; removed extensive gerrymandering.
We now have a democratic Democratic majority; our economy is best in the Nation; our budget is well managed.
Yay practical governing! Yay Democrats who get real-world problems solved instead of creating them! Boo Republicans and their rigid, wrong-headed ideologies!
Look to California for the solution. We booted out the Republican squaters with a non-partisan commission that drew fair lines; removed extensive gerrymandering.
We now have a democratic Democratic majority; our economy is best in the Nation; our budget is well managed.
Yay practical governing! Yay Democrats who get real-world problems solved instead of creating them! Boo Republicans and their rigid, wrong-headed ideologies!
18
Yes, the other 49 states should follow the shining example of California--where a deputy probation officer earns $228,000* + insanely generous benefits--to solve their fiscal problems. That's certainly one way to create the real-world problem of bankrupt government and unsustainable taxes.
*Los Angeles County class and salary listing database
*Los Angeles County class and salary listing database
4
You obviously haven't paid any attention to how Illinois got to where it is today.
4
Yay for a massive underfunded debt for CALPERS hidden in the budget too, huh?
5
Some commenters here are trying to drag President Trump into Illinois failure. Some others are saying this is the result of Uncle Toms and Jim Crow white leadership in Chicago. In Chicago. I wonder what they are smoking. The simple rule of money management is spending should equal or be less than what you make. Decades of overspending has finally resulted in a US state possibly on the verge of bankruptcy. Shows that however wealthy you are there are limits to what you can support in the long run. If this doesn't ring a bell to the illegal immigrant loving crowd nothing will. Repeat after me. We can't support the world forever.
8
Demographics. Demographics. Demographics.
The country is aging. Illinois is aging. There are more on Medicaid and fewer who are working. And it's not because they don't want to work or they cannot find the jobs to work. It's because Illinois, like so many other states, is aging. And that hits the state's purse as much as anything.
The answer is the grand bargain. We'll agree to cuts if you'll agree to raise taxes and vice versa. And then we can argue about who gets the tax increases and who gets the cuts but there has to be a combination of both.
Illinois has a great opportunity to show the country how to find a solution in the mess of a major problem that all the other states will experience as boomers -- and their good paying jobs -- leave the work force.
The country is aging. Illinois is aging. There are more on Medicaid and fewer who are working. And it's not because they don't want to work or they cannot find the jobs to work. It's because Illinois, like so many other states, is aging. And that hits the state's purse as much as anything.
The answer is the grand bargain. We'll agree to cuts if you'll agree to raise taxes and vice versa. And then we can argue about who gets the tax increases and who gets the cuts but there has to be a combination of both.
Illinois has a great opportunity to show the country how to find a solution in the mess of a major problem that all the other states will experience as boomers -- and their good paying jobs -- leave the work force.
4
It is high time for the people of Illinois to oust the leadership stating with the Governor and working their way down. Hold them on charges of mismanagement of State funds.
3
Can you explain how the Governor mismanaged funds when he has NEVER passed a budget? That's the hard part to explain to people not from Illinois. There has literally been NO BUDGET since this Governor Rauner was elected 3 years ago. You got the right idea, but the wrong starting point.
4
Pensions are a problem, but so is have more than twice the number of government agencies of any other state. Patronage. We in Illinois are fed up with property taxes that are higher than any in the nation. Cook County pays the highest sales tax in the country and yet we still have issues. Here is a pension reform we can all agree with.... public employees who retire as soon as they are eligible, and then take another job so they can collect a pension and a paycheck (one could say they are taking a paycheck from someone who might need one) should only receive the difference in pension benefits between their new salary and their annual pension payout. If their salary in the private sector is greater than their annual pension payout, no pension payout until it drops below that amount. The cost savings would be unbelievable. We need an Illinois Constitutional Amendment. And while I'm not doing backflips over Rauner, Madigan has got to go. We need NEW and YOUNGER blood in the game.
13
You pay high property taxes and sales taxes to make up for having a flat tax income tax. When I was in my twenties and a registered Independent, my manager, who was a conservative Republican was continually talking up a 15% flat income tax. Because he was my manager, I never disagreed with him or mentioned, that even as a naive inexperienced young woman, that flat tax idea sounded like recipe for disaster. Illinos is now proof that it is a near sighted idea.
Even California's infamous Proposition 13 provided for controlled increases when it rolled back property taxes in our state. (Yes, even though I owned no property at the time, I did vote for Prop 13.)
Even California's infamous Proposition 13 provided for controlled increases when it rolled back property taxes in our state. (Yes, even though I owned no property at the time, I did vote for Prop 13.)
2
Your property taxes may be among the highest in the nation but your state income tax levels are not. Try living in California.
3
I was hoping the Times would write a little more on the latest twist in this tale. Why did Christine Radogno decide to resign, effective tomorrow? She and Tom Cullerton, her Democratic counterpart in the Illinois Senate, put together an outline of a way out of this mess, figuring that keeping both Rauner and Madigan out of the negotiations to try to keep from poisoning the atmosphere.
When they announced their deal, Rauner effectively cut Radogno's legs out from under her, rejecting the deal outright. Then Rauner threatened to fund a challenger to her in the next Republican primary. Rauner, who is a billionaire, has done this before to state legislators who do not toe his line.
When they announced their deal, Rauner effectively cut Radogno's legs out from under her, rejecting the deal outright. Then Rauner threatened to fund a challenger to her in the next Republican primary. Rauner, who is a billionaire, has done this before to state legislators who do not toe his line.
18
Can the United States be far behind? The largest debtor nation in history. Funded by the Federal Reserve Bank. Why does the NYT never analyze the Fed's balance sheet, loaded with debt it purchased from the Treasury but will never be able to unload. No conceivable exit strategy. Only exit is high future inflation. Trump never even talks about the debt, and Bush and Obama just let it grow and grow. Arithmetic rules eventually. Just wait. Puerto Rico and Illinois are simply precursors.
8
"America does not, at the present time, have a functioning democracy" - President Jimmy Carter
I'd only add to that, and it is glaringly obvious after reading this article, that we no longer have a functioning government, federal, state, or local, either.
I'd only add to that, and it is glaringly obvious after reading this article, that we no longer have a functioning government, federal, state, or local, either.
3
Here is the dirty unvarnished truth from a lifelong Illinoisan. Rauner is attempting to push the state into bankruptcy. This has been the Republican "fiscal plan" for years now. When I first heard it laid out at a speech by a wealthy Winnetka strategist I cringed. Now I see it coming into fruition. They want to bust all the unions-- teachers, state employees, etcetera, by going bancrupt and erasing all the debts. It is an evil plan which will leave the wealthy flying high and the working people of Illinois robbed of their pensions, public education, virtually everything. This is why "Madigan" is being portrayed as the corrupt bad guy and Rauner the sane fiscally responsible one. Not so. Plenty of blame to go around, but the governor will not deal with the budget because he wants a failed state. Welcome to the Republican plan for Illinois and America.
13
This does seem to be the Republican plan. Look at what happened in Kansas under Brownback. Perhaps, American voters should carefully examine all candidates and determinedly vote against any candidate who seems likely to be planning to bankrupt the government if elected.
Bankruptcies hurt many. They should be avoided, not sought.
Bankruptcies hurt many. They should be avoided, not sought.
1
Yes, to turn Illinois into Baja Wisconsin.
1
Watch every GOP campaign ad for every IL legislative office: using the same narrator (gruff grandpa or alarmed auntie), spitting out “career politician” as the supreme epithet, “shake up Springfield” (a phrase adopted by Rauner in his own campaign) as a mantra, and when all else fails, superimposing a ghoulish B&W photo of and invoking the specter of (gasp!) Mike Madigan (like yoking Dem. Cong. candidates to the “evil” Nancy Pelosi).
Know what happens when you disdain experience? You get incompetence. Know what happens when you “shake up” a warm soda pop bottle? You make a massive mess. Know what happens when you “shake up” a Molotov cocktail? It explodes. People get hurt. People DIE.
Know what happens when you disdain experience? You get incompetence. Know what happens when you “shake up” a warm soda pop bottle? You make a massive mess. Know what happens when you “shake up” a Molotov cocktail? It explodes. People get hurt. People DIE.
4
"Some Chicago residents said they were vaguely aware of the lack of a state budget. Still, it had hardly affected their lives. “I’m still shopping, I’m still eating, I’m still doing my job.”
This is like frogs in a pot, the temperature creeping up so slowly they are not aware that they will be cooked, in the end. We are being fed nonstop diversions from the tasks that we MUST do to build a responsive, responsible political class.
This is like frogs in a pot, the temperature creeping up so slowly they are not aware that they will be cooked, in the end. We are being fed nonstop diversions from the tasks that we MUST do to build a responsive, responsible political class.
6
Downstate, we are not frogs in a pot. The pot has been boiling for quite some time now, and we are well aware of it.
2
Yippee…. We made the NY Times!
Congrats to all my proud, fellow Illinoisans. A big day for certain….
Illinois politics and poor state funding is a long, long story of dysfunctional leadership on both sides of the aisle. While the democratic machine has controlled the state houses for decades, republican governors have had an equal hand in kicking the proverbial can in any direction available.
Pensions are certainly a big part of this equation. And the single most damaging variable in this pension mess is what’s called “inadequate employer contributions”. That means the state simply did not bother to make their payments to the pension funds, while the public employees of course did.
If the federal government were to intervene in any way on these state matters, they should start by requiring states to pay their commitments in a timely way in much the same way we require corporations to meet their promises and contracts. We do not do that, and as a result state and local politicians all over the land - and in Illinois particularly – have taken advantage of this loophole and guaranteed benefits to public employees without making the down payments needed.
Some want to blame the unions, some want to blame the employees. Certainly there is ample room for improvements from many angles, but if the state had simply paid its pension liabilities when they were due, you would not be reading about IL in the NY Times today.
Congrats to all my proud, fellow Illinoisans. A big day for certain….
Illinois politics and poor state funding is a long, long story of dysfunctional leadership on both sides of the aisle. While the democratic machine has controlled the state houses for decades, republican governors have had an equal hand in kicking the proverbial can in any direction available.
Pensions are certainly a big part of this equation. And the single most damaging variable in this pension mess is what’s called “inadequate employer contributions”. That means the state simply did not bother to make their payments to the pension funds, while the public employees of course did.
If the federal government were to intervene in any way on these state matters, they should start by requiring states to pay their commitments in a timely way in much the same way we require corporations to meet their promises and contracts. We do not do that, and as a result state and local politicians all over the land - and in Illinois particularly – have taken advantage of this loophole and guaranteed benefits to public employees without making the down payments needed.
Some want to blame the unions, some want to blame the employees. Certainly there is ample room for improvements from many angles, but if the state had simply paid its pension liabilities when they were due, you would not be reading about IL in the NY Times today.
51
In Germany for historic reasons, there are two types of public workers, federal, state and local employees ("Angestellte") and government officials ("Beamte"). Employees used to have less job security but the right to strike, "Beamte" don't. In practice, after five years "Angestellte" gain tenure. State employers (and employees) have to pay immediately into the pension system as have private employers (and employees). Officials don't even get officially a salary ─ they get an "alimony" ─ and don't pay for social security, neither do governments. When retired, they continue to be paid out of current budgets, The reasons for this differentiation have long ceased to exist, you find employees and officials working side by side doing exactly the same work.
In consequence, in the present, a "Beamter" doesn't cost the government as much as a "Angestellter". Since laws and regulations emanating particularly from government levels who don't have to pay for their enactment (mostly EU and federal government) continue to grow, so grew the government workforce, and even since personnel expansion has come to a standstill for about two decades now (but not the ever growing workload), future retirement obligations are still larger than present one.
Financial crisis hit local government first. Mayors then found a solution, some even proudly announcing it: Transform all "Angestellte" jobs into "Beamte", hire now, pay later!
Sounds familiar, doesn't it?
In consequence, in the present, a "Beamter" doesn't cost the government as much as a "Angestellter". Since laws and regulations emanating particularly from government levels who don't have to pay for their enactment (mostly EU and federal government) continue to grow, so grew the government workforce, and even since personnel expansion has come to a standstill for about two decades now (but not the ever growing workload), future retirement obligations are still larger than present one.
Financial crisis hit local government first. Mayors then found a solution, some even proudly announcing it: Transform all "Angestellte" jobs into "Beamte", hire now, pay later!
Sounds familiar, doesn't it?
1
" . . . the state simply did not bother to make their payments to the pension funds, while the public employees of course did."
Thank you for pointing this out, Joe K. It's also worth noting that Illinois state employees are also barred by state law from participating in Social Security, which renders the state's failure to make good on its side of the contract all the more pernicious.
Thank you for pointing this out, Joe K. It's also worth noting that Illinois state employees are also barred by state law from participating in Social Security, which renders the state's failure to make good on its side of the contract all the more pernicious.
6
A contract is a contract—and a pension agreement hammered out by labor & management is a contract. Doesn’t matter whether management is public or private—a promise to pay must be kept.
4
Look at what City of Los Angeles just gave the strongest Union in the nation, LADWP - 22% raises over 5 years. Shocking. And they pay 0 for their healthcare. Someone needs to actually negotiate with these Unions, not roll over.
12
Oh they do negotiate. The trouble is WHO does the negotiations...politicians who hope to benefit from union coffers and endorsements. No one sits at the table representing the taxpayers. That's the crux of the problem.
If we must have public unions, then negotiations should be run by a citizens panel and not elected officials.
If we must have public unions, then negotiations should be run by a citizens panel and not elected officials.
7
Term Limits. Mandatory term limits. Since the U.S. cannot govern itself, what with the Russians running our elections for us [sarcasm], term limits is the only way to be sure our democracy is safe. Get rid of these professional politicians. One (1) term and one (1) term only. Then these bozos can go back to living in mommy and daddy's basement.
We also need to make the reign of these family dynasties illegal by putting an end to the nepotism and cronyism. The Unites States is a republic not a monarchy. Get rid of the Clintons, the Bushes, the Cuomos, and the Kennedys.
We also need to make the reign of these family dynasties illegal by putting an end to the nepotism and cronyism. The Unites States is a republic not a monarchy. Get rid of the Clintons, the Bushes, the Cuomos, and the Kennedys.
3
This has been going on in our nation everywhere, ever since the recession or downturn of the economy in 2007. Suddenly, money has dried up in the coffers of every level of government, from coast to coast.
I don't think we've ever truly recovered from that economic disaster/bailout.
No money for schools, social programs, healthcare, public transport, housing, infrastructure, on and on....but the bank$ are doing ju$t fine.
I don't think we've ever truly recovered from that economic disaster/bailout.
No money for schools, social programs, healthcare, public transport, housing, infrastructure, on and on....but the bank$ are doing ju$t fine.
6
I must admit that I am receiving a generous Illinois pension and will also admit, that I signed employment contracts where the math never added up. In fact, I worked several more years beyond retirement with the fear that someone way above my pay grade would also figure out the math of these pension agreements never added up. Well, I finally gave up and retired---now somewhat concerned that finally our governmental bodies are doing the math.
7
I'm sure if they just cut taxes even more that the economy will boom and the problems will be solved. It worked so well in Kansas.
7
Sound familiar? A businessman with no prior experience in elective office? An partisan impasse in the legislature? Get ready for the Illinois experience on a national level.
8
"At the root of the fiscal turmoil is a political standoff."
Nope. The root of the fiscal turmoil is spending more than is brought in.
Illinois may be the first state to face this fiscal collapse, but it certainly won't be the last.
Nope. The root of the fiscal turmoil is spending more than is brought in.
Illinois may be the first state to face this fiscal collapse, but it certainly won't be the last.
6
This state's crisis is the result of an unholy alliance between the white ethnic democratic machine in Chicago, the Afro-American 'leadership' in that city, and the powerful folks who have fattened themselves at the public trough. None of whom have even a shred of decency or responsibility to the people they were elected to serve.
Illinois' state government has literally thousands of middle management, patronage positions doled out by Mike Madigan and his Springfield cabal. If the Democratic Party wonders why their fortunes have been so poor, they might look at what they have done to this state. While Governor Rauner is in way over his head as a hedge fund type without any government experience at all, the problems began long before his tenure.
FYI, my wife is a state employee and both of us - normally - vote democratic.
Illinois' state government has literally thousands of middle management, patronage positions doled out by Mike Madigan and his Springfield cabal. If the Democratic Party wonders why their fortunes have been so poor, they might look at what they have done to this state. While Governor Rauner is in way over his head as a hedge fund type without any government experience at all, the problems began long before his tenure.
FYI, my wife is a state employee and both of us - normally - vote democratic.
21
I'm in Urbana, home to one of the best research Universities in the country. We are loosing faculty, some of our best students are choosing out of state schools, and these three years have just kicked cans down a more troubled road. We will have a new governor by 2018, but the damage is severe. I think we need a federal law to require states to have a budget every year or loose federal funding.
6
Hopefully it's not long before people realize that pitchforks greatly outnumber billionaires.
3
Is there any difference between trying to negotiate with Democrat politicians and trying to negotiate with a thief regarding how much of your money he is going to steal?
8
This is a very unhelpful comment and reflects political bias.
2
Solid minus, so is nearly every other comment on this site. Only most of blaming Republicans for the issue.
1
Those men in the photograph have never missed a meal. The failure to pass a budget (a.k.a. just do the job they were elected to do) seem to only hurt the poor, old, and sick, not the Important People who Count, so who cares?
1
Why is it that Pres Obama "couldn't get anything done because of Republican obstruction" but it's Gov Rauner's fault that nothing gets done in Illinois with a Democrat heavy legislature?
8
Illinois is the Democrat's nirvana - buy votes with sweet deals to the state's unions and kick the can down the road until they've spent everyone elses' money.
7
Not really. California and Minnesota are Democrat's nirvana. Illinois is a very east coast style government. Having lived in all four locations (CA, MN, IL, & PA), the state feels very akin to Pennsylvania when it comes to politics.
There is a crisis in Springfield and in the State of Illinois, but I wonder how many people in Illinois really know or care about it. Who is the watcher?
1
And in 11 hours and 40 minutes, the government of Maine will shut down, thanks to our petulant, juvenile governor, who seems to channeling the adolescent in the White House. Perhaps we should look at this July 4 as less a national birthday and more of a national midlife crisis. I just hope we come out the other side relatively unscathed.
6
Lest we think that sleazy corruption, prevarication, and fiscal incompetence is something totally unique to states controlled by the "D's," one must turn their gaze to the Great State of Alabama, and her "Southern Sister States" where the "R's" rule the roost.
With Preacher-turned-Governor-turned-womanizer Robert Bentley being the THIRD Governor in a row to be removed for "irregularities", ALabama came in sixth in the "rankings" for corruption.
The rankings, by Fortune magazine, were determined by a study of convictions of public officials for violations of federal corruption laws between 1976 and 2008. A good many of Alabama's sister Southern states also made the list. Not surprisingly, Louisiana, a perennial corruption leader, came in at No. 2. It’s part of their culture. They are proud of their status as one of the nation’s most corrupt environs. They are probably disappointed they are not No. 1. Mississippi grabbed that ranking. Alabama's sister states of Kentucky, Florida and Tennessee also made the top 10. It looks like a final Associated Press Top Ten college football ranking.
"With the Republicans and the Democrats, it's like Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb. There's not a dime's worth of difference between the two of them!"
––George C. Wallace, erstwhile Governor and "First Gentleman" of Alabama
With Preacher-turned-Governor-turned-womanizer Robert Bentley being the THIRD Governor in a row to be removed for "irregularities", ALabama came in sixth in the "rankings" for corruption.
The rankings, by Fortune magazine, were determined by a study of convictions of public officials for violations of federal corruption laws between 1976 and 2008. A good many of Alabama's sister Southern states also made the list. Not surprisingly, Louisiana, a perennial corruption leader, came in at No. 2. It’s part of their culture. They are proud of their status as one of the nation’s most corrupt environs. They are probably disappointed they are not No. 1. Mississippi grabbed that ranking. Alabama's sister states of Kentucky, Florida and Tennessee also made the top 10. It looks like a final Associated Press Top Ten college football ranking.
"With the Republicans and the Democrats, it's like Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb. There's not a dime's worth of difference between the two of them!"
––George C. Wallace, erstwhile Governor and "First Gentleman" of Alabama
1
Pensions are the new budget busters, and an example as to why public sector unions need to be outlawed. Democrats give public employees generous pensions, and public employees vote for Democrats. It's the circle of political life. It's great for everyone until the bills come due.
9
Among the last six of Illinois' governors, several left before they could be criminally charged. Rod Blagovich tried to sell President Obama's senate seat. Many Illinoisans continued on like nothing happened.
The media bleated on now and then about the crippled bureaucracy. But hey, roads get paved and tolls collected around Chicagoland. Voters closed their eyes and elected the same corrupt incumbents.
Rauner acts like this is all Democrats' fault. I doubt he's seen the impact of any of the financial shell game his party and others have played for decades. At this point we need a slash and burn policy to wake up Chicago to the reality plaguing the smaller cities and rural areas of the state.
The media bleated on now and then about the crippled bureaucracy. But hey, roads get paved and tolls collected around Chicagoland. Voters closed their eyes and elected the same corrupt incumbents.
Rauner acts like this is all Democrats' fault. I doubt he's seen the impact of any of the financial shell game his party and others have played for decades. At this point we need a slash and burn policy to wake up Chicago to the reality plaguing the smaller cities and rural areas of the state.
3
I urge your reporters to come to Southern Illinois (south of I-64), where the damage caused by this pernicious budget standoff has affected just about everyone. Southern Illinois University Carbondale, along with the healthcare industry, is the main economic (and cultural) engine down here, and we are on the brink of catastrophe thanks to the failure of the state to fund the university. Over 80 SIUC employees have been laid off in the latest round of cuts (mainly civil service staff and non-tenure-track faculty, not administrators), and there are more to come. We are in danger of losing our accreditation, which means further and much more severe enrollment declines. The state employee health care plans are years behind in their payments to providers, forcing some providers to require full payment up front from patients and risking the collapse of the entire health care system down here. Illinois state employees are prevented by state law from participating in Social Security, so if the state goes bankrupt and the pension system collapses, thousands of hardworking people will lose their retirement savings thanks to decades of state mismanagement and through no fault of their own. You can bet there will be no federal bailout from a Trump Administration. And good luck to anyone who has bought a house here and wants to try to sell it and move to greener pastures.
4
Why should the Federal Taxpayers fund IL? Go after the politicians and their cronies. FOLLOW THE MONEY!
2
Worsening the problem is that hired actuaries-- who have no liability if they are wrong-- give rosy predictions of future costs of current pension promises. A solution that should be adopted by any state that has constitutionally guaranteed pensions is that: if the prediction made by the actuary is wrong, the pension change is rescinded. If that is not feasible, as is probably the case for Illinois, then no increases should be made until the pension plans are fully funded, or the state goes into bankruptcy to clear out the unsupportable pension liabilities and debts.
Every estimate I've seen of the unfunded value of public pensions appears to underestimate the unfunded amount by 20-100%. Each year, the new estimates of the old value balloons more. Fortunately we'll fix the problem tomorrow... tomorrow is never today.
Every estimate I've seen of the unfunded value of public pensions appears to underestimate the unfunded amount by 20-100%. Each year, the new estimates of the old value balloons more. Fortunately we'll fix the problem tomorrow... tomorrow is never today.
4
Public Employees of the various state universities, including colleges and two-year public education, do not have Social Security. Instead their government funded retirement is through SURS. Illinois does not pay into Social Security.
In most states, like NYS, tax players and the institution pay into SS.
The common formula: pension, savings and social security= retirement security, Believe me, my pension benefits did not escalate out of control.
In most states, like NYS, tax players and the institution pay into SS.
The common formula: pension, savings and social security= retirement security, Believe me, my pension benefits did not escalate out of control.
3
Just for clarification: the first two sentences of Ms. Keenan-Takagi's comment refer specifically to Illinois state university employees. SURS is the acronym for State Universities Retirement System, the Illinois state government agency that administers the state university system's pension plan.
1
As a lifelong IL resident, it's too easy to put the blame on Rauner. He is definitely not blameless in this fiasco but this is can that has been kicked down the road by both sides for decades. Mike Madigan, in particular, is the king maker here with Rich Miller saying that "the pile of political corpses outside Madigan's Statehouse door of those who tried to beat him one way or another is a mile high and a mile wide." The state has been insolvent for far too long meanwhile the corruption and graft continues unabated. I guess Illinois can take some solace in the fact that we actually send our corrupt politicians to jail... sometimes.
6
As a thirty year resident of Illinois and an employee in public higher education, I can say that public employees have been paying regularly into the pension system for years. The state did not pay in for quite a while, even though it was constitutionally mandated. That's why the pension system is in such bad shape. The state has not been fulfilling its obligations and is now trying to blame public employees for the fiscal mess that it finds itself in. To avoid even more flight from the state, both by ordinary citizens and college students, the state needs to raise taxes, pay its bills on time, and help those who need support, including the elderly, the poor, and the chronically ill. It would help to start with a budget.
12
Thank you for your clear and accurate explanation of the problem. I hope the editors will select your comment as an NYT Pick. People outside Illinois need to understand that the current crisis has been a long time in the making, that both Democratic and Republican state administrations have contributed to it, and that it is not the fault of supposedly lazy, greedy, or selfish state employees.
2
Why is it that union labor contracts, workers’ pensions can be sacrificed, but CEO’s golden parachutes when they are responsible for their company’s failure, are inviolable? Why is it that private companies like Goldman Sachs can hold up a government like Detroit for payment of bond interest, but nonprofits that run nursing homes can find their payments withheld? Why is it that accountants and lawyers must be paid astronomical hourly fees, but social workers, teachers, nurses can be cheated out of their income?
6
We have a website in conn www.ctsunlight.org I have gone on it recently and have been shocked to see stenographers, welfare workers, dmv workers at or near 100k. Every time the local news has a state worker like a bobcat expert or sunscreen expert comes on I look up the name and again 95-100k is common. I am an IT expert with 2 degrees working 55 hrs a week year round, funding own pension and I have never quite made it to 95k and fear for my job daily. I also see the avg teacher is now at 76k and the avg pension for a newly retired teacher is 57k at age 60 and there is NO WAY this is sustainable. We are 18 months behind Illinois. Sickening that they would let social programs go to keep this ponzi scheme going.
1
ANOTHER right-wing extremist "I know all" know-nothing governor willfully trashing his own state out of arrogance, zealotry, and callous disregard from the people of his own state.
And "only" the roads, students, teenagers, elderly, health and welfare of the state is taking a major hit -- as is the state's very economic viability, current and future.
The worst of the inmates are truly in charge of the asylum!
And "only" the roads, students, teenagers, elderly, health and welfare of the state is taking a major hit -- as is the state's very economic viability, current and future.
The worst of the inmates are truly in charge of the asylum!
1
The problem is a higher number of Illinois residents fell for a self-funded billionaire Republican who is clueless about government because they believed his nonsense. Sound familiar? And guess what? He turns out to be a jerk.
Business is about profit at all costs, government is about serving the people.
The underlying problem is some Democrats who have been in power too long who won't ask Illinois' many well-off businesses and industries to pay their fair share of taxes.
As a former lifelong Chicagoan who has witnessed California digging itself out and coming up on top, perhaps Illinois needs to take a page out of California's playbook.
Mike Madigan, Pat Quinn, Rahm Emmanuel: meet with Jerry Brown. Recall Rauner, if possible. Illinois has an incredible number of positives which need to be supported and utilized.
Business is about profit at all costs, government is about serving the people.
The underlying problem is some Democrats who have been in power too long who won't ask Illinois' many well-off businesses and industries to pay their fair share of taxes.
As a former lifelong Chicagoan who has witnessed California digging itself out and coming up on top, perhaps Illinois needs to take a page out of California's playbook.
Mike Madigan, Pat Quinn, Rahm Emmanuel: meet with Jerry Brown. Recall Rauner, if possible. Illinois has an incredible number of positives which need to be supported and utilized.
39
Illinois was if memory serves carved out of the State of Ohio in 1818. Do you suppose they'd take us back? At least we could save the cost of utilities on that barn of a Statehouse in Springfield.
Doesn't matter whose fault it is, does it? It seems the Speaker and the Governor deserve each other, and maybe 3 generations of previous voters deserve the both of them; but please tell me what will be done to make Illinois solvent again. Otherwise, dissolve the state and give it back to the Indians.
Illinois should immediately declare bankruptcy and join forces with Puerto Rico.
What's happening in Illinois is a disaster, that's clear. I don't live there so don't know many of the details and can't comment directly on what's contributed to the mess. However, in many of these posts I see the same Republican-Democrat finger pointing about who did what and who's most to blame that's crippling our government. Perhaps if "we the people" demonstrated a more thoughtful and respectful way of talking and listening to each other, we could set a precedent that our so-called leaders would not be able to ignore. Unrealistic? Perhaps. But isn't it worth a try?
Well, there it is. Eventually what was thought to be the never ending ability to spend other people's money does indeed come to an end.
4
Just another example of Marxist failures.
2
Besides being an embarrassment, people are getting hurt. Rauner is partly, mostly to blame, but democrat Madigan has been in power for many years and actually has more power to pull levers than Rauner. People are leaving the state, the credit rating is in the hole. Lifelong residents can't wait to get out of here.
4
Ughh, what a mess. Lots of blame to go around, so anyone who wants to pitch it all one way or the other is playing loose with the facts.
Yes, the Madigan machine is part of the problem. The man is all about his personal power and shifting blame to the Rs. Illinois needs to raise taxes, but needs to do this on the upper end of incomes, so he always wants to get them to join in before doing that, even when he has a veto-proof majority, as he did before the last election.
The Rs don't mind that at all, as they feel safe in just saying no to any tax increase. Then Rauner wants to add in a right-wing wish list of his own, as if he can't count votes in the legislature that show that's a non-starter, his way of trying to shift all the blame to the Ds. The wish-list has almost nothing to do with the deficit, except to make it incrementally worse. He claims that the Ds can't run a household, yet no one thinks that to just stop paying your bills or refusing to look for more income is a good idea when you're poor.
Fact is, Illinois is a low tax state overall and the taxes that exist weigh heavily on low income folks, despite the bleatings of the local fishwrap. Yeah, taxes MUST go up.
Don't blame the unions, they represent relatively low pay workers and depend on pensions WITHOUT access to Social Security. IL also has a very low # of state workers per resident compared to other states.
The mess is about to blow up. We'd do good to clean house at the next election.
Yes, the Madigan machine is part of the problem. The man is all about his personal power and shifting blame to the Rs. Illinois needs to raise taxes, but needs to do this on the upper end of incomes, so he always wants to get them to join in before doing that, even when he has a veto-proof majority, as he did before the last election.
The Rs don't mind that at all, as they feel safe in just saying no to any tax increase. Then Rauner wants to add in a right-wing wish list of his own, as if he can't count votes in the legislature that show that's a non-starter, his way of trying to shift all the blame to the Ds. The wish-list has almost nothing to do with the deficit, except to make it incrementally worse. He claims that the Ds can't run a household, yet no one thinks that to just stop paying your bills or refusing to look for more income is a good idea when you're poor.
Fact is, Illinois is a low tax state overall and the taxes that exist weigh heavily on low income folks, despite the bleatings of the local fishwrap. Yeah, taxes MUST go up.
Don't blame the unions, they represent relatively low pay workers and depend on pensions WITHOUT access to Social Security. IL also has a very low # of state workers per resident compared to other states.
The mess is about to blow up. We'd do good to clean house at the next election.
6
If Illinois could cut Chicago off and let it drift out into Lake Michigan, taking Rahm Emmanuel hopefully Obama with it, Illinois might be better off.
3
That's true, but the cost to build new Interstates over the Lake to
connect the suburbs together would be astronomical. And where would
the Bears, Bulls, Cubs and Sox go? Not to mention the Art Institute.
connect the suburbs together would be astronomical. And where would
the Bears, Bulls, Cubs and Sox go? Not to mention the Art Institute.
Lots of comments rightfully pointing out that underfunded pensions is the problem. But here's the thing. Promises were made to people years ago and they built there life around an expectation of retiring with a certain amount of pension. Ripping that away as they are now retiring and can't do anything to change their past decisions (by for example saving more money in a 401k) is unfair and leaves them in a vulnerable position. The hard choices to raise taxes to fund the pensions and lower benefits so that pensions were sustainable and workers understood they were getting less needed to be made years ago.
32
Here's the dirty little problem people outside Illinois are unaware of, and those inside Illinois turned a blind eye towards for far too long. Some workers "retired" from jobs where they collected one pension, then turned around and took another job with another pension, then another, then another. There is a couple we know who have between them, 5-6 pensions. In Illinois, you can teach one college class at one of the universities, and quality for a pension. There are many, many instances where the workers "boss" hiked the workers pay scale to double what they were earning, in the last year or two of employment, and guess what? The pension is set at the pay level of your last year or two of employment. So we have sanitation workers who were paid on average $50,000 a year, but in their last two years earned $80-100K, and that is what their pension is now set at. People are leaving Chicago and Illinois in an increasing record pace. What happens when enough leave, and there are unpaid bills? Because those who can afford to move, will, leaving those behind too poor to be able to pay the bills.
3
How about the Daley Madigan kick back from contracts galore--parking meters, ventra et al. Meanwhile the people of Illinois have to live with the pain. Taxes go up and up, grocery bags are taxed, sodas are taxed--when will it end.
Illinois has lost the largest number of people of any state in America--no opportunity, shootings et al. I'm moving. I can't imagine what is left to tax but I'm sure they will find something I haven't thought of as yet.
Illinois has lost the largest number of people of any state in America--no opportunity, shootings et al. I'm moving. I can't imagine what is left to tax but I'm sure they will find something I haven't thought of as yet.
2
Thank you for your compassionate post. Contrary to what one might infer from some of the anecdotes posted above, we are not all "pension welfare queens" trying to milk the system. And--as I've said already in other posts--Illinois state employees are barred by state law from participating in Social Security.
2
This sounds awful. Glad I don't live in Illinois right now. Maybe it IS time to throw the bums out...
Solid Republican leadership! Get rid of all that messy, complicated government stuff! Run the state like a business! Business uber alles! No taxes, no budget, no programs, no services. Fire everybody! Shut the clinics! Shut the schools! Turn off the lights! It worked SO well in Kansas! You're on your own folks! Keep voting Republican!
3
Rauner is Illinois's Brownback. He refuses to lead, discuss, compromise. He is blinded by his wealth and choking on his pride.
Yes, there are lot of problems aside from Rauner, but there is only one guv.
Yes, there are lot of problems aside from Rauner, but there is only one guv.
4
Another Democrat Dystopia success story. Maybe Rahm can impose a shooting tax where every ILLEGALLY owned and discharged firearm generates more liberal redistribution material.
Next stop: Mexifornia. LOL
Next stop: Mexifornia. LOL
4
In short, the bullies bully, the selfish cheer them on so they get their goodies and most people just accept the result.
Resist! (please)
Resist! (please)
Resist. That's laughable. Life is hard. Too bad no one taught you that.
2
Public unions elect Democrats. Democrats give public unions jobs, wages, pensions, and benefits that the State can't afford. Lather, rinse, repeat. Oh, and they somehow passed a State Constitutional Amendment that says pensions are holy and can't be touched.
I left Illinois over 30 years ago as the writing was on the wall then. High taxes, unfriendly business environment, limited job opportunities, and liberal policies imposed by the free lunch crowd in Chicago.
It is a recurring cycle in Democrat controlled states to let things fester into a crisis, then elect a Republican Governor to clean it up and deliver the needed dollop of tough medicine. Then ... back to biz as usual. It has worked over and over, but those states didn't have a Dem supermajority and an entrenched crime boss like Madigan.
You can pass all the "emergency" taxes you want. Who will be left to pay them? Taxes are way too high already, and working folks (aka suckers) are voting with their feet, and it is accelerating. They're taking their companies, jobs, and tax base with them. It's the final chapter in Atlas Shrugged, playing out in a formerly great state.
I left Illinois over 30 years ago as the writing was on the wall then. High taxes, unfriendly business environment, limited job opportunities, and liberal policies imposed by the free lunch crowd in Chicago.
It is a recurring cycle in Democrat controlled states to let things fester into a crisis, then elect a Republican Governor to clean it up and deliver the needed dollop of tough medicine. Then ... back to biz as usual. It has worked over and over, but those states didn't have a Dem supermajority and an entrenched crime boss like Madigan.
You can pass all the "emergency" taxes you want. Who will be left to pay them? Taxes are way too high already, and working folks (aka suckers) are voting with their feet, and it is accelerating. They're taking their companies, jobs, and tax base with them. It's the final chapter in Atlas Shrugged, playing out in a formerly great state.
5
No matter how much money they force you to pay in taxes it will never be enough. This place needs a reset. People need to realize that anything named govt is a cancer and not a savior.
4
really Duke? Have you checked out the happiness indexes in Scandinavia lately, land of very high taxes?
2
Thank you Mike Madigan, Illinois House Speaker since 1983. 1983!!
Utterly bizarre that other commenters would blame Governor Rauner, who's trying to save this sinking (Democratic Party-dominated, deep blue) ship.
Utterly bizarre that other commenters would blame Governor Rauner, who's trying to save this sinking (Democratic Party-dominated, deep blue) ship.
5
They are both very much to blame, as are Blagojevich, Ryan, and many others in a very long list of Illinois politicians of both parties who have been happy to throw citizens under the bus for their own profit and that of their cronies.
1
.
Illinois needs to go bankrupt, and the democrats that sold out the citizens need to be imprisoned.
.
Illinois needs to go bankrupt, and the democrats that sold out the citizens need to be imprisoned.
.
1
And those of us who will shortly depend on the state employees' pension system should just die already?
1
Billions in tax hikes on struggling Illinoisans and businesses is not the solution to the state’s budget crisis.
The real solution is transforming how Illinois government operates and how it spends taxpayer dollars. Illinoisans know that because they experience the broken nature of Illinois government every day.
Seniors who want to stay in their homes after retirement are still being pushed out by the nation’s highest property taxes, in large part because they are forced to pay for too many units of local government and the bloated bureaucracies that run them.
Middle-class and blue-collar workers continue to see their manufacturing jobs disappear, a result of the state’s job-killing economic policies.
Social service providers, from those who help the developmentally disabled to those who treat drug addiction, are seeing their funding dry up as out-of-control pension costs swallow a quarter of the state budget.
Young teachers are being forced to pay into an insolvent state-run pension plan and given no other options to save for their retirements.
Because doctors know the state is a bad partner, many practices do not treat Medicaid patients, and Medicaid recipients still often rely on emergency rooms to access care despite the billions spent on Medicaid.
And for too long, Illinois’ college administrators have put themselves before students.
Tax hikes won’t solve any of those problems. In fact, they would only perpetuate these crises.
I speak as a Democrat.
The real solution is transforming how Illinois government operates and how it spends taxpayer dollars. Illinoisans know that because they experience the broken nature of Illinois government every day.
Seniors who want to stay in their homes after retirement are still being pushed out by the nation’s highest property taxes, in large part because they are forced to pay for too many units of local government and the bloated bureaucracies that run them.
Middle-class and blue-collar workers continue to see their manufacturing jobs disappear, a result of the state’s job-killing economic policies.
Social service providers, from those who help the developmentally disabled to those who treat drug addiction, are seeing their funding dry up as out-of-control pension costs swallow a quarter of the state budget.
Young teachers are being forced to pay into an insolvent state-run pension plan and given no other options to save for their retirements.
Because doctors know the state is a bad partner, many practices do not treat Medicaid patients, and Medicaid recipients still often rely on emergency rooms to access care despite the billions spent on Medicaid.
And for too long, Illinois’ college administrators have put themselves before students.
Tax hikes won’t solve any of those problems. In fact, they would only perpetuate these crises.
I speak as a Democrat.
5
The resignation of Christine Radogno proves Illinois' problem is Bruce Rauner, a Scott Walker wannabe who refuses to compromise. Rauner doesn't care about the hardships he's creating by his obstinacy -- state workers can't even get their medical bills paid. Go to Springfield, and watch Rauner go out drinking in bars -- he gets booed.
6
Some of you still wouldn't wake up even if you were clonked on the head by a falling 2 x 4. Rauner is trying to pay the bills, and save the state. This has been going on long before Rauner. And if you want to play the Rep vs Dem thing, go ahead. Since 1961, there have been 5 Republican governors, and 5 Democrat governors. The biggest problem with liberal thinking is that money is never in short supply. Guess what? Now it is.
3
The IL mess was years in the making. Don't point the finger at IL.
Just take a peek behind your state's financial curtain and you may find your state is not too far behind.
Just take a peek behind your state's financial curtain and you may find your state is not too far behind.
2
KCSM's comment is right on the money. Retire from a public sector job at 45 making low 6 figures if you had any kind of game and/ or clout. Get paid a six figure income for, what, 30 years? more?, + top shelf healthcare, for doing absolutely nothing. This is fact. I have friends doing it. Wish I could blame Rauner but no way. This has been a long time coming. It was never sustainable, but was able to be hidden during a booming economy. (Just sell the streets to cover any shortfalls before leaving office.) The culture of Chicago especially enables this. There's a perverse pseudo-pride in the level of corruption that probably dates back to the 30s. Chicago, founded as a land grab hustle, will always be the town where "we don't want nobody nobody sent."
4
I'm attending college in Chicago. My first realization upon getting here was how shockingly expensive everything is -- and I'm from New York City, so that's a pretty high bar. The base sales tax rate is 10%. 21% of the population of Illinois lives in Chicago. Where exactly is all of that money going?
14
Yoy don't think downstate Illinois pays for itself, do you?
1
We have a low income tax rate, and because of the state constitution, it has to be a flat tax. So, the question is not where the sales tax money is going, it is why does Illinois depend so much on sales taxes.
4
Where is the money going - see how much a guaranteed annuity that pays you 70,000/year until you die would cost - that is what every civil servant in Illinois gets when they retire.
For example - the Teachers Retirement System - More than 71 percent of TRS members retire before the age of 60 and the average pension for TRS members who retired before the age of 60 with at least 35 years of service is $70,491.
For example - the Teachers Retirement System - More than 71 percent of TRS members retire before the age of 60 and the average pension for TRS members who retired before the age of 60 with at least 35 years of service is $70,491.
1
Reagan started this by saying government is the problem so the word trickled down and thus began the beginning of making government look bad. Hire people who do not have the skills to run it and make a department look bad. Attach the agency and poof it no longer works for the people it serves. Well, here we are with nothing now. Wonderful. Thanks for nothing. America worked best when it assisted it citizens with loans, work, training and opportunities just after WW2. These were all government solutions and they worked. Good bye good government, democracy and our Republic. So long.
10
"America worked best when it assisted it citizens with loans, work, training and opportunities just after WW2.". Therein lies the difference and the change...it worked well when government helped out but became an unstainable mess when it decided to run everything itself through bureaucracy and regulation and entitlement (often of the self-serving and utterly unaccountable bureaucracy itself). Just look at the unfunded pension mess, something the post-WWII public and legislators would have rejected. It's not Reagan's fault for pointing it out.
Those who believe no government is the answer (not what Reagan actually meant) and those for whom the only answer is ALWAYS more government are both wrong and at fault.
Those who believe no government is the answer (not what Reagan actually meant) and those for whom the only answer is ALWAYS more government are both wrong and at fault.
3
Reagan brought up the free market as the answer. It is not the answer either. We need the government and the market to work in tandem.
2
Budget Schmudget. Who needs a budget? Only those with OCD?
OK some guidelines are needed. But budgets seem alluded to mainly for cutting programs for the poor. Increasing taxes is never an option. It's like families in a tough financial situation should first get lower paying jobs as the way to a better financial position.
Our best period of growth, during which the middle class was created, was a period of very high taxes on the top bracket, over 90 percent except for one year in the 80s, for 20 years, the early 1940s to the early 1960s, thanks to the patriotism and foresight of the Greatest Generation.
We may go down as the Worst Generation. Or at least the Greediest, where wealth just sits there among a few while infrastructure crumbles and student loan debts soar--in contrast to the Greatest Generation who built the Interstate system and put over 10 million GIs through college who then became productive tax-paying citizens, many in professional and executive positions.
OK some guidelines are needed. But budgets seem alluded to mainly for cutting programs for the poor. Increasing taxes is never an option. It's like families in a tough financial situation should first get lower paying jobs as the way to a better financial position.
Our best period of growth, during which the middle class was created, was a period of very high taxes on the top bracket, over 90 percent except for one year in the 80s, for 20 years, the early 1940s to the early 1960s, thanks to the patriotism and foresight of the Greatest Generation.
We may go down as the Worst Generation. Or at least the Greediest, where wealth just sits there among a few while infrastructure crumbles and student loan debts soar--in contrast to the Greatest Generation who built the Interstate system and put over 10 million GIs through college who then became productive tax-paying citizens, many in professional and executive positions.
5
First, Nobody paid 90%, second, America had little competition. Today you are competing with companies all over the world that pay workers $20 a day. And they have no insurance, no pensions, no regulation, and the dear leaders who crafted deals like NAFTA, all told us we'd be fine. Well we're not. And Chicago with it's corrupt politicians made it worse with sweetheart deals and pensions they knew would never be funded. Then you elected Democrats (Because they promised the world for free) to run the place who kicked the can down the road. All of you people knew there was a huge problem. You dragged it out way longer that you should have. Now this is going to hurt. But you did it to yourselves. As one of your own said, elections matter. You elected Democrats, you got freebies, now it's time to pay.
2
You cannot realistically compare the economic realities of the 40s-60s with today global economy. The US tax rate had nothing to do with our success. The simple fact that we were the only economic powerhouse left standing drove the creation of the middle class.
The US today is 24%+ of the global economy. China, Japan, and Germany make up the next 25%. That is HALF of the entire worlds economy in 4 countries. How were the economies of China, Japan, and Germany post WWII? Germany and Japan were completely bombed out refugee zones. China was purely agricultural.
GDP per capita in 1950
1. United States $9,573.00
GDP per capita in 2016
8. United States $57,293
The US today is 24%+ of the global economy. China, Japan, and Germany make up the next 25%. That is HALF of the entire worlds economy in 4 countries. How were the economies of China, Japan, and Germany post WWII? Germany and Japan were completely bombed out refugee zones. China was purely agricultural.
GDP per capita in 1950
1. United States $9,573.00
GDP per capita in 2016
8. United States $57,293
2
"In 2016, Illinois lost some 37,000 residents, more than any other state."
And the people leaving are the people who can afford to leave. Those left behind have less income and account for less tax revenue.
The downward spiral continues.
And the people leaving are the people who can afford to leave. Those left behind have less income and account for less tax revenue.
The downward spiral continues.
12
New Brunswick (and its major municipalities) were close to this position in 2010.
A judicial review of the pension plan for province wide professional hospital workers found their pension plan unsustainable and ordered increases in contributions, reductions in benefits or both.
All parties in the government and all involved unions agreed on pension changes that stabilized the plan and the model was soon followed by other pension plans.
Today, the province has both pension and debt stability. Sound pension reform can be done; but, maybe, it requires judicial intervention to make the affected parties "see reason".
A judicial review of the pension plan for province wide professional hospital workers found their pension plan unsustainable and ordered increases in contributions, reductions in benefits or both.
All parties in the government and all involved unions agreed on pension changes that stabilized the plan and the model was soon followed by other pension plans.
Today, the province has both pension and debt stability. Sound pension reform can be done; but, maybe, it requires judicial intervention to make the affected parties "see reason".
7
Can't be done in Illinois, it's been tried. The pension plan benefits were written into the revised state constitution in 1970. with a mandatory 3%/year increase in benefits. Because it is part of the constitution, the only way it can be changed is to either 1.) amend the constitution to allow for changes to the pension program or 2.) hold a new constitutional convention. Madigan and his buddies are only concerned with what they get, they hold enough votes to prevent either of the above mentioned fixes to ever get passed. Like the columnist Mike Royko proposed years ago, the Chicago motto should be change from Urbs in Horto ( A city in a garden) to Ubi est Mea (Where's mine?).
5
I forgot that Royko said that. The people at the Chicago Trib are still using his best lines! He would have had a field day commenting on the current news.
3
In this otherwise very good piece there's a surprising omission: there's no mention of the fact that Illinois leads the nation in the number of its natives who move out, followed by West Virginia. Half of native Illinoisans live in in "downstate" -- everything south of Metro-Chicago -- and they're afraid of an economic climate in which many plants are shutting down or moving: one prime example being CAT Diesel's corporate headquarters relocating its historic headquarters from Peoria to Chicago. Those leaving want to get out while the companies for which they've worked are still up and standing an paying the pensions they've earned over many years. Another economic factor is the inflow of poor immigrants -- virtually all of whom locate in Metro-Chicago. The outflow of middle-class stakeholders and inflow of impoverished immigrants is a worrying development on top of the state's other problems. Some 70 percent of immigrant families across the nation are on at least one public welfare program, as well as programs underwritten by the state. It's hard to see how Illinois is going to pull itself back from the brink with a GOP governor with "a plan" and fossilized Democrats who expect to have a great many guarantees of support for programs BEFORE they will even consent to negotiate a budget. Meanwhile Illinoisans of all parties look on in wonderment as the political "leaders" seemed prepared to take the state over Niagara.
7
Sadly, per usual in this discussion, the community colleges of Illinois are ignored. They're some of the best in the nation, they actually have the best one in the nation a bit downstate from Chicago, and they're rarely discussed in this budget crisis. Most of the community colleges in Illinois will likely close this year if there isn't any funding sent their way, and it seems like the folks in Springfield, and in the majority of country, just ignore the community college system and the people they help. It's sad that the last affordable way to get a college degree is so often overlooked.
11
And do the legislators continue to pay their own salaries and benefits, as well as those of their staff? Just wondering.
10
"Democratic legislators sue state over not getting paid"
http://chicago.suntimes.com/politics/group-of-illinois-legislators-sue-s...
http://chicago.suntimes.com/politics/group-of-illinois-legislators-sue-s...
2
"Everything's in Danger" except for bloated pension checks, union and political salaries, and lobbyist contracts. It's going to take deeper cuts than stiffing contractors and suppliers to fix Illinois problems.
8
Mike Madigan is the root of the problem. He is megalomaniacal and will do anything to cling to power. He favors a tax increase to fund a pension system that calls for a 3 % cost of living adjustment each year. Unfortunately, modifying the pension system in Illinois is untenable as the Illinois Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional. Gov. Rauner was elected with the sole purpose of reforming the state; however, the Democratic machine of Illinois has impeded that progress. As far as I can tell, the state, as a whole, is unsalvageable.
14
A property tax freeze is a horrible way to "control spending". Look at California. As a result of Prop 13 (a "brillant" GOP idea), CA has some of the highest sales and income taxes. Imagine squeezing a balloon, the amount of air in the balloon doesn't change, just the distribution of the air does.
My in-laws pay $800 in property taxes on a $1.1 million dollar house because of Prop 13. So not only is the state being deprived of over $10,000 in revenues, they are reluctant to move away because if they moved anywhere else in the country it would cost them way more in property taxes. Want to know why housing prices in CA are some of the highest in the country? Because there isn't the natural turnover that you see in other parts of the country (my parents retired and moved away from NJ to a lower cost state, hence making room for a new family in NJ). Bottom line is that property tax freezes are the dumbest economic idea because they create huge distortions.
My in-laws pay $800 in property taxes on a $1.1 million dollar house because of Prop 13. So not only is the state being deprived of over $10,000 in revenues, they are reluctant to move away because if they moved anywhere else in the country it would cost them way more in property taxes. Want to know why housing prices in CA are some of the highest in the country? Because there isn't the natural turnover that you see in other parts of the country (my parents retired and moved away from NJ to a lower cost state, hence making room for a new family in NJ). Bottom line is that property tax freezes are the dumbest economic idea because they create huge distortions.
6
Illinois property owners desperately need relief from property taxes. In some Illinois communities, the property tax rate is ~ 5%. A 5% tax rate would result in a $55,000 tax bill for your in-laws every year. Perhaps that would be more to your liking?
Illinois has many fiscal problems, including unfunded pensions and expensive, redundant local government agencies. This is not about the tax rate. It's about the spending. Illinois needs to get its financial house under control.
Illinois has many fiscal problems, including unfunded pensions and expensive, redundant local government agencies. This is not about the tax rate. It's about the spending. Illinois needs to get its financial house under control.
3
Dont forget the other problem with Prop 13- The 2/3ds requirement to raise taxes, but only a majority vote to increase spending. The property issues is literally dying off as it only applies to the original home owners, but the spending/tax problems will continue to exist.
1
Caracas-on-the-Chicago...
(Chicago River - actually)
(Chicago River - actually)
5
Proof that both sides of the aisle love to wallow in ignorance and squalor. Illinois (privately) built a prosperous society and then financially assassinated it wuth government unions in a way that fact-based observers easily foresaw. Observe Detroit. It is ironclad math. Facts.
I would like to relate this to our current healthcare debate. The existence of economic stability at our national level is no excuse to just say "let's borrow the money Infinitely until we are poor, destroying the country and our children." At some point, our remarkable ability to print hard currency, under such abuse, WILL run out. Our birthright will be gone. Observe Venezuela. Shameful thoughts, shameful actions. No excuse.
I would like to relate this to our current healthcare debate. The existence of economic stability at our national level is no excuse to just say "let's borrow the money Infinitely until we are poor, destroying the country and our children." At some point, our remarkable ability to print hard currency, under such abuse, WILL run out. Our birthright will be gone. Observe Venezuela. Shameful thoughts, shameful actions. No excuse.
4
Any individual or business with half a brain would flee this bankrupt state. Indeed, Illinois' population is shrinking.
What kind of failing companies, who could care less about their customers shareholders, move INTO Illinois or Chicago? McDonalds and United Airlines
What kind of failing companies, who could care less about their customers shareholders, move INTO Illinois or Chicago? McDonalds and United Airlines
5
Illinois has finally run out of other people's money.
14
I recently moved back to Illinois from California. Yeah, it's a mess. No it's not the fault of one party or the other. No, Rauner is not an effective Governor. Yes, Madigan is a political monster. But let's face it: we Illinois residents voted them in. Illinois residents have (if they are well-to-do) slept through this crisis. The poor and disenfranchised have - as the article points out - felt it and felt it hard. This isn't about "socialism" or "conservatism" or any "ism". It's about the priorities of a state with 12,000,000 people. Economically, Illinois is Chicago (where construction cranes sprout like weeds) surrounded by a flatter version of West Virginia (to the point of having a once thriving coal industry). And the two have always had a hard time working together. So it was always going to be tough to keep this state from suffering government dysfunction and economic dislocation. But those of you who look down on Illinois as unique aren't paying attention. Illinois is also the result of people demanding things from government that they then aren't willing to pay for. And that my friends is "The American Way".
105
And that is a good explanation of what is happening on a national scale.
1
"Illinois is also the result of people demanding things from government that they then aren't willing to pay for."
Indeed! Can't get more accurate than that.
Indeed! Can't get more accurate than that.
2
our goverment could certainly use a rotor outer job, but might some of this be helped a bit if we had a graduated income tax? am I wrong here? does not our governor with his 150 mil yearly income paying taxes at the same rate as folks trying to get by at 30 or 50 grand? there's plenty of money and prosperity here to work this out, course some rat out and claim Florida residence, and no mercy for the double dipping pension thieves, greed has no political party here
1
The social contract for public employment was historically based on relatively low salaries in exchange for some degree of job security and a modest pension. Corrupt and incompetent politicians who changed this paradigm and have allowed taxpayer-paid salaries and benefits to escalate out of control (particularly at the top end) during the past 3 or so decades have altered the economic basis of our country. Budget problems can be solved, perhaps by starting with a cap on taxpayer-paid salaries and benefits.
47
RD from MN, it is my understanding that for decades, tax money meant for pensions was diverted, and therefore left unpaid. This is the reason the pension funds are depleted. This is a problem caused by misgovernment, not over compensation of people who held up their end of the bargain by doing their jobs and paying into their pension funds. Please don't blame the victims or the system, the onus was on those elected and appointed to carry out their legislated duties.
3
RC from MN, krw is entirely correct about this.
How many IL politicians are now in jail for corruption? Just saying.......
IL will have to declare bankruptcy at some point. If you keep electing corruption politicians at some point you have to pay the price. Seems like it's happening now.
IL will have to declare bankruptcy at some point. If you keep electing corruption politicians at some point you have to pay the price. Seems like it's happening now.
12
The U.S. Constitution does not allow for state bankruptcy. The financial imbalance will be resolved in Illinois, not in Washington, D.C.
Detroit, Chicago, Venezuela, the pattern leading up to collapse is always the same. Economic ruin. Many are wise enough to see it coming and get out way ahead of the cave in. But the wisest don't elect these creatures in the first place.
13
Don't forget Puerto Rico.
1
Socialism is great. Until the money runs out.
24
Spot on, WB... And it's always somebody else's money...
1
what socialism ? In USA, be serious 2 mn or just open a dictionary.
Don't worry, just increase the taxes on the "rich". Any when the rich flee just redefine the income level for being "rich" to anyone that has a job.
In electing Rauner, Illinois was ahead of the curve. We've shown the rest of the country (which is only now catching up to us) what happens when you elect as chief executive a filthy rich fat cat with no governmental experience. And who are the Democrats threatening to put up against Rauner in the next election? Two filthy rich fat cats of their own, both with no governmental experience: JB Pritzker and Christopher Kennedy. With luck, one day we will all figure out that we have a complex system of government, complex because we ask it to do so many things, and a novice can no more run the government than a novice can fly a 747. When novices try to do either one, the result is the same: we all crash and burn.
63
The crashing and burning was caused by the Dems who have run the state since Anton Cermak. Rauner was elected to try to bring Illinois back from chaos. With Madigan, there is no hope. Goodbye Illinois.
5
all of these problems occurred long before Rauner came in and the public unions have blocked him all the way
4
Way to ignore the gorilla in the room.
This problem is decades in the making, and even if there was your favorite politician in the governor's seat, this financial situation would still be happening.
It's financial mismanagement for DECADES.
Who was in charge the last 30 years?
This problem is decades in the making, and even if there was your favorite politician in the governor's seat, this financial situation would still be happening.
It's financial mismanagement for DECADES.
Who was in charge the last 30 years?
3
Prop 13, and like legislation nationwide, have destroyed our nation.
Thank you Republicans.
Thank you Republicans.
20
What are you talking about? Illinois has the highest median property tax rate in the nation, with various agencies and entities taking a combined 2.67 percent bite, according to a Core Logic analysis of real estate property taxes nationwide. Incidentally, Illinois is and always has been a Democratic stronghold.... The Chicago Democrats have almost destroyed the state...
7
Proposition 13 applies to California, not Illinois. It wasn’t a bill passed by Republican or Democratic lawmakers. It was a ballot initiative approved by 63 percent of California voters in 1978 while Jerry Brown, a Democrat, was governor. It set a limit on property taxes. Illinois has no state property tax, but Illinois residents pay the highest median property tax rate in the nation, with various agencies, including cities and counties, taking a combined 2.67 percent bite.
No thanks to Republicans, California's credit rating is in good shape and the state is growing, regardless of what you imply. I have seen no evidence that Prop 13 has done any harm.
2
Michael Madigan and his firm collect millions in fees annually in a property tax appeal scam in Cook ( Crook) County. This has been going on for decades. There is no other county which scams property owners the way Cook county does. Madigan and his cohorts in city hall are as crooked and corrupt as any 3rd world country. Rauner is absolutely spot on to tie the budget to property tax freeze to stop corrupt officials like Madigan from scamming homeowners in Cook county.
17
With all due respect, it is obvious that the citizens of Illinois are seriously undertaxed. The rest of us can do no more than wait to see how long they drag it out.
7
Say what?
Our sales tax, is 10.75% and we have some of the highest property and gas taxes in the country. Sure the state income tax is "only" 3.75% but that is only a small piece of the problem, the last proposed budget was out of balance by 25%.
Our sales tax, is 10.75% and we have some of the highest property and gas taxes in the country. Sure the state income tax is "only" 3.75% but that is only a small piece of the problem, the last proposed budget was out of balance by 25%.
3
Andy -
With all due respect back, the citizens of Illinois are not "seriously under-taxed".
We have a kick the the can down the road financial structure because the government can't say no to their special friends.
With all due respect back, the citizens of Illinois are not "seriously under-taxed".
We have a kick the the can down the road financial structure because the government can't say no to their special friends.
12
The taxation here is a joke. Rather than make the tax hike to 5% permanent (when Rauner came into office) Madigan played games, and tried to tie the tax hike to Rauner. Rauer wouldn't raise taxes. Unbelievable what goes on here.
2
The root cause of Illinois very serious fiscal crisis is as mentioned in the article: a quarter of a trillion dollars in unfunded pension liabilities, and a state Constitution which mandates that these be paid in full.
This is a consequence of many decades of spend-now pay-later behavior by too many politicians in Illinois and its municipalities, including Chicago. Providing generous benefits to today’s voters, and leaving the bills to their children, is all too common by elected leaders. The politicians are at fault, and the blame is shared by the voters who elected them. After all, who doesn’t like a free lunch?
Personally, this is why I am a fiscal conservative, most often vote Republican, and worry a great deal about incompletely funded entitlement programs. However, this being a New York Times comment forum, I can hear the catcalls already and fully admit the problem extends to both sides of the aisle.
We should all hope Illinois finds a solution. The social consequences are severe, more so, perhaps, than this article suggests, and likely to get much worse.
This is a consequence of many decades of spend-now pay-later behavior by too many politicians in Illinois and its municipalities, including Chicago. Providing generous benefits to today’s voters, and leaving the bills to their children, is all too common by elected leaders. The politicians are at fault, and the blame is shared by the voters who elected them. After all, who doesn’t like a free lunch?
Personally, this is why I am a fiscal conservative, most often vote Republican, and worry a great deal about incompletely funded entitlement programs. However, this being a New York Times comment forum, I can hear the catcalls already and fully admit the problem extends to both sides of the aisle.
We should all hope Illinois finds a solution. The social consequences are severe, more so, perhaps, than this article suggests, and likely to get much worse.
37
I agree there is a middle ground. We can't have unlimited entitlement programs or it will bankrupt us. But at the same time we can't throw pennies at the poor and vulnerable (and let the super-wealthy hoard ever greater amounts of capital to use only on their pet projects) and wonder why citizens don't feel like they can't get ahead.
5
I too am a fiscal conservative, which is why I have never voted for a Republican. I'm not claiming that their Democratic opponents are saints by any means, but the hypocrisy related to fiscal 'prudence' that comes out the GOP is a pill to bitter to swallow.
Perhaps if a conservative actually ran for office...
Perhaps if a conservative actually ran for office...
Republicans in Washington are on the verge of creating an entirely new entitlement.
One question, should unions also pay for these services (not disagreeing they are needed) or only others, and if the latter who are those others?
or should they do as Detroit did and just have no police to respond to calls and not street lights
or should they do as Detroit did and just have no police to respond to calls and not street lights
2
Illinois, another fine example of decades of Democratic Party policies.
21
You are mistaken. Actually, Illinois has had many Republican governors in the past 50 years and Republicans also own all of the Chicago collar counties.
1
When I became a director of a not for profit I thought I would finally be able to create programs and initiatives that were exciting and enjoyable. And though, in the 5 years that I was director, I accomplished a few of those, what I quickly realized is that I served the public. I needed to solve problems and look to the needs of the constituents and tax payers. Lobbyists and vested interests chip away at government. No program or budget should be held at ransom for special interests and unrelated side deals.
It's interesting that another article in today's Times reflects on the impasse between the democratic government of Hong Kong and the authoritarian mainland Chinese ruling body. The world is teetering on a precarious summit.
It's interesting that another article in today's Times reflects on the impasse between the democratic government of Hong Kong and the authoritarian mainland Chinese ruling body. The world is teetering on a precarious summit.
4
Oh dear, you had " to look to the needs of constituents and tax payers ". Who would have thought?
1
This is what happens when Democrats control the state legislature for several generations. Illinois is basically Venezuela now. The state of California is close behind this model.
16
The state of California has a good credit rating and the economy is growing. It is nothing, at all, like Illinois.
3
It is sure that the states of the red belt are in better state
I guess Kansas is an example of a fiscally responsible Republican led government???
The problem is primarily pensions. I say that as a lifelong Democrat. But everyone knows pensions have to be cut or the state must default in some way in order to give it a future. The second issue is the level of taxes. It doesn't matter whether Illinois' taxes are high enough for its level of services. What matters is whether Illiinois' financial condition provides an incentive for people and companies to leave and it appears to have reached that point.
19
Once Illinois voters are unable to sell their homes, they will get the message.
2
In southern Illinois, we are already there.
1
Illinois is a classic example of big spending Democrats destroying a once thriving state's finances. The situation was so bad that a solid blue state elected a Republican governor. If Democrats and the NYT were reasonable they would acknowledge this. But no. It is far easier to blame the former businessman turned first time conservative governor who is trying to fix the problem. Property taxes are insanely high in Illinois. Even Michael Jordan cannot sell his mansion. No one wants to pay taxes so Madigan and his crew give them away to interest groups.
15
It seems that spending is appropriate, and the issue is getting the obscenely rich 1% to pay their fair share, and to have done so all along.
To pay for government services like Medicaid and infrastructure, taxes need to go up, but it's tough to raise taxes when there is so much waste as a result of corruption in government. Yet there is very little discussion about how to deal with corruption, probably because both parties benefit from it.
28
As soon as revenues increase the public unions demand higher wages and benefits, which the craven politicians seem always eager to grant.
2
Corruption should always be drummed out whenever possible.
That's a minor problem in cases were state-mandated pensions are in play.
That's a burden on the future taxpayer and is a model that should no longer be used. It should be all 401k or similar so the future taxpayer can concentrate on things that government should be involved in.
Individual retirement is individual and not the responsibility of future taxpayers and now we're beginning to see why.
Many other states are in a very similar situation.
It requires that there never be a recession.
Does anyone really think that is realistic?
That's a minor problem in cases were state-mandated pensions are in play.
That's a burden on the future taxpayer and is a model that should no longer be used. It should be all 401k or similar so the future taxpayer can concentrate on things that government should be involved in.
Individual retirement is individual and not the responsibility of future taxpayers and now we're beginning to see why.
Many other states are in a very similar situation.
It requires that there never be a recession.
Does anyone really think that is realistic?
1
As in your own home: "You may not spend, that which you have not earned."
8
(1) This has been going on LONG before the current governor. The blather below about how it is the Republican governor's fault (and the endless repetitive annoying irrelevant nonsense about Trump) is simply the usual crowd doing their political rants unrelated to the facts
(2) Lot of comments yelling about public workers pensions in IL. I looked up the data
There are 264,000+/- public employees at the state and local level.
Of the 264,000, 200,000 are NOT in Social Security (choice made by the state of Illinois.) Only 60,000 also pay into Soc Sec. -and for them there would be offset of Soc Sec against their pension (pension -what Soc Sec pays.)
So the pension is the ONLY retirement income that 75% of these people will have.
If a worker in the private sector made $70,000 (experienced worker with an MA for example), they would have been able to save tax-free in a 401K or private Keogh retirement account. In retirement they would have had their savings and Soc Sec. Public employees can not do that tax-free individual retirement account.
Problem is how does Illinois pay what it owes those who planned their lives on what has been promised AND still stay solvent?
(2) Lot of comments yelling about public workers pensions in IL. I looked up the data
There are 264,000+/- public employees at the state and local level.
Of the 264,000, 200,000 are NOT in Social Security (choice made by the state of Illinois.) Only 60,000 also pay into Soc Sec. -and for them there would be offset of Soc Sec against their pension (pension -what Soc Sec pays.)
So the pension is the ONLY retirement income that 75% of these people will have.
If a worker in the private sector made $70,000 (experienced worker with an MA for example), they would have been able to save tax-free in a 401K or private Keogh retirement account. In retirement they would have had their savings and Soc Sec. Public employees can not do that tax-free individual retirement account.
Problem is how does Illinois pay what it owes those who planned their lives on what has been promised AND still stay solvent?
70
The problem is that government officials agreed to contracts specifying pension levels which they were unwilling to fund by increasing revenues, just putting off the problem. The chickens have come home to roost in many places, Illinois being just one of them.
If these pensions were a legitimate need for the workers, and in many cases they were, then the government should have tied the acceptance of the contractual obligations to the passage of revenue producing measures to fund them. What we have instead it the same as people who buy a home that they cannot afford, hoping that somehow they will find a way to pay for it when the bill comes due.
If these pensions were a legitimate need for the workers, and in many cases they were, then the government should have tied the acceptance of the contractual obligations to the passage of revenue producing measures to fund them. What we have instead it the same as people who buy a home that they cannot afford, hoping that somehow they will find a way to pay for it when the bill comes due.
5
"they would have been able to save tax-free in a 401K or private Keogh retirement account"
Government employees can participate on a tax-deferred basis in a 457(b) plan which is just like a 401(k) plan for private sector employees.
And in both cases, the benefits are NOT tax free. Distributions are taxed as ordinary income.
Government employees can participate on a tax-deferred basis in a 457(b) plan which is just like a 401(k) plan for private sector employees.
And in both cases, the benefits are NOT tax free. Distributions are taxed as ordinary income.
I think if you are 51 and " retired " with 80% of your best years salary and health care then you go get a job and take 25% of your salary till 65.
If not then this will go on until the pension goes bankrupt and the results will be worse.
If not then this will go on until the pension goes bankrupt and the results will be worse.
1
Many of us who are not directly affected nonetheless have followed the dysfunction in Springfield closely because we care about our state and we care about all the people who are currently being hurt. That said, I feel quite powerless. Though I consider myself to be a liberal, a practical one, I voted in the last election for Gov. Rauner, the Republican. It was the most difficult decision I have ever made as a voter. I literally stood there in the booth before the ballot agonizing over it for I had nothing against Gov. Quinn personally. Still, at that time, Springfield was a mess. Quinn, as a Democrat, was so enmeshed with Madigan (Speaker) and the others that it seemed to me nothing could happen.
Change has not worked. People like Madigan are too entrenched, but I cannot vote them out for they are not my reps. I am not happy with Rauner and many of his policies, so will not vote for him again.
I love Chicago and Illinois and will not move. Honestly, though, sometimes I feel that there are 49 states and Illinois, which is some kind of amorphous blob in the midst of all those states. I am sad and dismayed.
Change has not worked. People like Madigan are too entrenched, but I cannot vote them out for they are not my reps. I am not happy with Rauner and many of his policies, so will not vote for him again.
I love Chicago and Illinois and will not move. Honestly, though, sometimes I feel that there are 49 states and Illinois, which is some kind of amorphous blob in the midst of all those states. I am sad and dismayed.
57
Sorry, there are fifty states and then there is Cook County, and therein lies the problem! If Chicago had been in Indiana or or Wisconsin we would be lamenting the terrible financial condition of one of those states!
1
I know this is not probably comforting, but many states face an oncoming fiscal train known as pensions.
You're not alone and future decisions will have to be made to structure state retirements differently so as not to put that burden (at least) on future taxpayers.
This coming from someone who has several siblings depending on state pensions. I begged them to do a separate and additional retirement.
Some listened, some have not.
Facing the decision to drop government essentials like police, fire, and roads is not unrealistic and should never happen.
However, I believe we are about to see several states in exactly this position in the next decade.
You're not alone and future decisions will have to be made to structure state retirements differently so as not to put that burden (at least) on future taxpayers.
This coming from someone who has several siblings depending on state pensions. I begged them to do a separate and additional retirement.
Some listened, some have not.
Facing the decision to drop government essentials like police, fire, and roads is not unrealistic and should never happen.
However, I believe we are about to see several states in exactly this position in the next decade.
Another Democrat here. I voted for Quinn because, while he had a tin ear for politics, he was a competent governor. And unlike his predecessors for the prior 20 years, both Republicans and Democrats, he made at least one full contribution to the pension fund.
This is the Republican model for destroying a government that serves the people. Get used to it. Now that is has proven successful in Kansas and Illinois, the Republican party is taking it national and destroying the federal government. "Making America the Soviet Union Again". Well played Vladimir.
77
Destroying the Federal Government would be the opposite of what happened in the Soviet Union. Neither party seems interested in cooperating, which is the truly sad part as we will all end up paying for this mess in one form or another.
2
That is an uninformed statement cb. It's the Democrats that have run Illinois into the ground. Historically Republicans have been in the minority in the legislature. A major reason for this mess is that the Democrats kept piling on the goodies to state employee unions to keep them voting Democrat but not bothering to fund those goodies. That's a Democrat model of governance and it's unsustainable.
11
How many decades have the Democrats owned the State Senate and House in IL? 40 years? 50 years? How you can possibly say the billions of dollars of unfunded pensions have been caused by the Republicans? How? IL is a train wreck. It did not happen in the past 5 years. This has been decades in the making.
23
I left the utterly corrupt climate of Illinois in 2011 for the friendly confines of South Carolina. Best decision I've ever made. The only answer for Illinois, Cook County and Chicago is a Detroit-style bankruptcy. Replace all the pols with a single manager and eliminate the debt. No other way out. The Madigan crew is the most corrupt regime known to American politics. "Trow da bums out."
41
There is only one legal remedy for state debt - levy new taxes and/or increase current taxes. Voters must pay for what they allowed to happen. If voters get off the hook, the problem will never be solved.
8
Politicians need to impress that services people use every day, like roads or bridges, are not free but paid for by the users. Instead, all services are free with the money falling from trees and kids get candy. Yes, people are gullible but politicians wanting to win and grab their spoils rather than govern only worsen the issue. At least it has been going on for so long, that when the train wreck happens and the bills are due the gullible may not be so gullible anymore, simply robbed, while the guilty politicians have moved on.
10
dyeus: It's not just "politicians", it's specifically Republican politicians who make taxes and government into totally negative images. Everybody likes to complain about taxes, and joke about government workers, but people with a "normal" vision of how life works can see the serious usefulness of what we use government to accomplish. After all the kidding, people recognize that "the government" is actually us, getting things done that we can't do as well on an individual basis. But the Reagan rhetoric of "government is the problem" assures people that they don't really need to pay taxes - but he never explained all the things they would have to do without. Good roads, good schools, good health care, prompt service from government agencies - but no taxes. That's the Republican sales pitch.
7
No, John, that attitude developed when year after year politicians raised taxes predicated in the promise to fix or improve things and then squandered the money on salaries, pensions, pet projects, etc., while not fixing what needed fixing...and then once again putting on a poor mouth and saying "we need more money". One needn't be a die hard Republican to, after a while, distrust all the repetitive lies.
2
From the brief description of Gov. Rainer as a businessman with zero previous political experience, I am immediately put in mind of the thought that this is what could happen on a national scale with Emperor Donnie sitting behind the desk in the Oval Office.
Government is not a business, and has never been run on the basis of "making a profit." Some functions of government are just social costs, such as police, fire departments and EMT services. Other such efforts include public education and public health services. We support them because they provide socially useful outcomes and respond to the needs of society generally. What is so hard to understand about that?
Government is not a business, and has never been run on the basis of "making a profit." Some functions of government are just social costs, such as police, fire departments and EMT services. Other such efforts include public education and public health services. We support them because they provide socially useful outcomes and respond to the needs of society generally. What is so hard to understand about that?
108
You're clueless about IL and the parties responsible for it's fiscal mess.
IL has been under the thumb of career Democrats for decades. Both House and Senate are Dem-majority, and Madigan is a Chicago-machine Democrat who has been Speaker of the House for over half my lifetime. He has stood in the way of meaningful reform attempts and term-limit pushes time after time, and has allowed the problem of unfunded liabilities to grow exponentially for three decades. All Madigan is interested in is power - his and his Party's. Nothing more.
IL has been under the thumb of career Democrats for decades. Both House and Senate are Dem-majority, and Madigan is a Chicago-machine Democrat who has been Speaker of the House for over half my lifetime. He has stood in the way of meaningful reform attempts and term-limit pushes time after time, and has allowed the problem of unfunded liabilities to grow exponentially for three decades. All Madigan is interested in is power - his and his Party's. Nothing more.
75
This mess existed long before the current Gov. Rauner even ran for office! The primary problem is the overspending by the Democrats for all classes of public employees. Just look at public school teachers who have overly generous health and pension benefits while being paid high salaries, that insures union support for the democrat politicians who will never cut spending. The state is very close to junk bond status and will have a hard time borrowing to dig themselves out of this enormous hole. Meanwhile the wealthy are leaving the state.
26
Republicans have always had a hard time understanding that.
A good read is "American Amnesia."
A good read is "American Amnesia."
1
I never see research that measures the effectiveness of addiction treatment programs. Are these programs cost effective? I don't know, that's the point. These articles are written as if they are, and I think that's poor journalism.
One reason for the republican resurgence since 2010 is the Democrats' emphasis on identity politics and political correctness rather than the economy and other important issues.
One reason for the republican resurgence since 2010 is the Democrats' emphasis on identity politics and political correctness rather than the economy and other important issues.
32
Few government programs are cost effective.
10
Really? The State of Illinois is a hot mess, and you're wondering if addiction treatment is effective? Ask your own Governor who wants all Badgercare (Medicaid) applicants to be screened for addiction, and then require those who screen positive to complete treatment-- as a condition of Medicaid eligibility. His whole premise is that people on Medicaid should also be fit to work, and that means able to pass employment drug testing. So, to answer your question, your governor believes the research shows that addiction treatment works. If you are "never seeing the research" on effectiveness, you can find plenty. It's just one online search away.
4
Want a good economy?
Economies do better when lots of people have lots of money to spend on goods and services.
Economies do less well when lots of money accumulates in just a few places.
GOP policies are all about the second. It is their main goal.
Economies do better when lots of people have lots of money to spend on goods and services.
Economies do less well when lots of money accumulates in just a few places.
GOP policies are all about the second. It is their main goal.
5
The key issue is that there is a revenue problem -- the symptom of decades under a regressive taxation system, coupled with lawmakers creating tax cuts and kicking the can on pension obligations to cover the resulting deficits. The revenue burden must shift up to those incomes 200k & up from where it is now, where the bulk is levied disproportionally on incomes below 70k.
27
DT--I'm very much with you on the regressive tax system as a major problem. Republicans have successfully diverted middle class whites attention from Republicans' favor the rich policies. Dems help Repubs with Dems' incessant attention to identity politics and political correctness.
2
The problem is spending.
17
Yes, do that and watch a few hundred thousand more IL residents and businesses flee for other states. Texas is open for business!
7
Illinois has been a mess for decades. The last 70 years of Illinois political history would make a good movie. Opening scene: Secretary of State Paul Powell looking at piles of checks because during his tenure checks were to be made payable to Paul Powell rather than to the Secretary of State. Then proceed to the governors who were sent to prison. When you think that the story about Illinois government cannot get worse, it does.
52
Rauner is another example of a financially successful Republican businessman who thinks he has the skills and expertise to run government. He does not. What he can do is ignore and refuse to negotiate with Democrats (going on three years now), run ads to convince us he's got our backs (he does not), remain mute about critical state and national conversations (not sure how he feels about medicaid), and could care less about those who need state services (lacks empathy). Why do rich business people think they can govern? What motivates them to run? Ego? Narcissism? They think they know it all? Wait. Is this article about Rauner or Trump? We sure don't get much relief in Illinois.
174
After eight years of a community organizer who ignored and refused to negotiate with Republicans, why would anyone believe that business people could do any worse a job of governing than professional politicians. Even as we speak, the ink his executive orders were written in is disappearing.
6
"We sure don't get much relief in Illinois."
It seems Illinois received excessive relief by simply kicking the can down the road. Eventually, a major tax increase will be required.
It seems Illinois received excessive relief by simply kicking the can down the road. Eventually, a major tax increase will be required.
4
And you never will as long as you keep voting Democrat. How's Rahm Emanuel working out for you, Chicago?
1
For 3 decades, starting with Republican Governor Jim Thompson, there was an agreement between Chicago Democrats and downstate Republicans: they would peacefully coexist if Chicago got billions in social services spendind and downstate received billions in state spending for roads and prisons. Both parties horse-traded away all of the states money. The last governor before Rauner, Quinn, also tried to cut spending to no avail. In illinois the general assembly is too powerful. A constitutional convention is needed.
32
And if a Constitutional Convention fails I think Reconstruction (the old-fashioned kind) or even a creditors' committee could do a better job.
2
If spending can not, or will not, be cut, there is only one solution - increase taxes!
3
Gov Rauner needs to demonstrate leadership and drop the bitter partisan ideological demanding.
Democrats need to realistically address deep deficit and accept cuts that must be made.
Democrats need to realistically address deep deficit and accept cuts that must be made.
20
"'“We’ve done as much as we can possibly do to manage what is really a politically manufactured budget crisis,' Richard J. Helldobler, the interim president of the university, said."
If by manufactured, you mean Democratic politicians and public service unions conspiring to create catastrophically underfunded pensions. They are the anchor dragging the state down, but get scarcely a sentence in this article.
If by manufactured, you mean Democratic politicians and public service unions conspiring to create catastrophically underfunded pensions. They are the anchor dragging the state down, but get scarcely a sentence in this article.
61
Illinois has had Republican governors for 32 of the last 50 years. Even Republican Jim Edgar (1991-1999) blames Bruce Rauner for the current crisis.
5
Any informed reader who may know something about States' budgets and finances, generally speaking, knows these facts:
- in any metropolitan or "large" State, outlays that predominate are aid to school districts (teacher salaries, special districts, libraries that close early) government worker salaries and pensions, mandated contributions to their lucrative pension plans, debt service that should have been retired decades ago, any medicaid share and the court systems. Anyone see anything here that eases the daily grind of the working public? Transit systems? Statewide high speed internet? Proper infrastructure maintenance? Of course not. And yet the cognoscenti wonder as to the universally low opinion government is held in? Now THAT's news.
- in any metropolitan or "large" State, outlays that predominate are aid to school districts (teacher salaries, special districts, libraries that close early) government worker salaries and pensions, mandated contributions to their lucrative pension plans, debt service that should have been retired decades ago, any medicaid share and the court systems. Anyone see anything here that eases the daily grind of the working public? Transit systems? Statewide high speed internet? Proper infrastructure maintenance? Of course not. And yet the cognoscenti wonder as to the universally low opinion government is held in? Now THAT's news.
6
“This impasse has been very cleverly designed to minimize the immediate obvious impact on middle-class families that don’t have a need for state-funded social services,” said Andrea Durbin, the chief executive of the Illinois Collaboration on Youth, an association for providers of youth and family services."
While the middle-class families don't have a need for state-funded social services TODAY, at the rate this state is going, EVERYONE but the wealthy will be in need of some type and degree of social services very soon. Last year our property taxes went up 10%. This year, they will go up another 10% - all because of how the city and state mishandled the police, fire and public school pension funds years ago. Meanwhile, folks are fleeing the state in unprecedented numbers, businesses are still getting tax breaks, and the "regular" citizen is left holding the bag, unable to sell their home and move because of the continual hikes in property taxes, water, natural gas - just for starters.
This state is in such disarray and turmoil, there isn't a person I know who doesn't seriously fear that we will implode any day now. Somehow the woos in Washington, by comparison, don't seem so dire.
26
A 10% tax increase is not enough to solve any problem. It's like putting a band-aid on a gunshot wound.
4
When the courts step in to impose order where the elected branches refuse to, governance loses in the long-run. Let the elected state government fail and force the people to re-think who they send to the state capital represent them.
To do otherwise is to indulge elected officials to act like children and allow them to pander to moneyed interests over their constituents.
To do otherwise is to indulge elected officials to act like children and allow them to pander to moneyed interests over their constituents.
9
We've lost the ability to compromise.
8
This has been the hidden political problem in this country for years. Billionaires like the Koch Brothers have quietly funded the takeover of state legislatures to impede any programs aimed at helping citizens. Look at what happened in Kansas and Wisconsin. It's time voters wake up not just at the national level but at the state level before we lose our entire country.
11
You realize that both houses of the Illinois Legislature are run by Democrats, right? The Koch brothers have nothing to do with this one.
12
Yeb! did TREMENDOUS damage here in Florida, even the smallest five man police squads in rural Florida are now 200-300 team federal task forces designed for one thing: Income. The state receives a >$400 federal subsidy for a butt on a court bench/jail bunk when it costs the state <$30/day. It makes for very "URGENT" law enforcement styles.
1
The reporting in this article is abysmal. The authors of the article should mention that Mike Madigan has been speaker of the house for 40 (!!) years. The underfunding of pensions took place under Madigan long before Rauner arrived in Springfield. The article uses the term "weaken unions" when that is far from the truth. Private sector unions are not part of the equation here - it is the public sector unions that have unsustainable pay and benefits.
These are the unions that fund Madigan's campaigns and stand the most to benefit. Want to retire at 50? With a pension of 80% of your last year of work? And have the ability to spike your pay by working overtime - or even better - getting a phantom "promotion" in your final year of employment? Come to Illinois and join a public sector union! Tax payers have finally had enough - that's why we elected Rauner. Unfortunately, if we don't reform the finances in this state, Illinois is done for.
These are the unions that fund Madigan's campaigns and stand the most to benefit. Want to retire at 50? With a pension of 80% of your last year of work? And have the ability to spike your pay by working overtime - or even better - getting a phantom "promotion" in your final year of employment? Come to Illinois and join a public sector union! Tax payers have finally had enough - that's why we elected Rauner. Unfortunately, if we don't reform the finances in this state, Illinois is done for.
144
I wholeheartedly agree with your comments. There has been known pension abuse by public sector unions supported mostly by democratic politicians for years in this state. It's been documented in newspapers many times about politicians in public sector unions receiving bonuses/promotions in their last year before retirement. So, the majority of tax payers in this state have been shaken down. In future articles on Illinois, please bring this point forward.
11
Voters made choices. Now, they must pay greatly increased taxes to pay for their choices!
3
Don't forget put in 20+ years of service, you get free healthcare paid by the state for the rest of your life. Not to mention you don't pay state income taxes on your pension checks.
4
Stop paying elected state officials. That might provide some incentive to produce a budget.
4
Ill. is just mirroring gov't gridlock and impasse that is going on in several states.
You can also one party control a state or the US gov't and also be at an impasse like the federal gov't is. It is not just reserved for spilt governed states.
We have to learn how to compromise or else crisis like this will go on forever.
You can also one party control a state or the US gov't and also be at an impasse like the federal gov't is. It is not just reserved for spilt governed states.
We have to learn how to compromise or else crisis like this will go on forever.
4
The intractable finances of Illinois are an inconvenient warning about the finances of the United States. Yes, the country could be right where Illinois is if we don't realign our money matters. Today, interest on our national debt is manageable, but rates are rising and so is the debt level. Soon, interest on our debt will swamp other programs but must be paid. and if you think the debate on health care is ridiculous, wait till you see our Congress go after budget bickering. Now is the time to heed the Illinois mess and get our spending under control.
10
"get our spending under control"
The massive Federal income tax reductions which occurred while spending continued to grow along with population is the cause of current financial imbalance.
The massive Federal income tax reductions which occurred while spending continued to grow along with population is the cause of current financial imbalance.
2
The only two truly bipartisan activities among Illinois lawmakers are corruption and self-aggrandizement. Until the so-called leaders of the party machines are replaced, the problems will not go away. Neither the Speaker nor the Governor are particularly decorative, so if they can't do the job they are elected to do, i e govern, what use are they? While egos clash poor people, disabled people, state employees, students, and schoolchildren, all suffer. The political arena in this state is shameful!
16
Agree with you. Term limits are needed to get these bought and paid for politicians out of office. Rauner supports this and he should be supported.
3
Yes Illinois has major financial challenges. The usual way of trying to fix the issues is to elect new leadership. Unfortunately our governor is terrible. When you have terrible democratic leadership and you mix in a terrible governor you get stalemate which is contributing to our ongoing disaster. The total lack of communication that comes out of our governor concerning our challenges other than to blame the democrats is the perfect example of what is wrong with our state. Illinois would be the perfect place for a third party common sense candidate to run. Given the Supreme Courts ruling on no limits to money in politics, aka Citizen's United, our hopes for a common sense leader are doomed. Big money is at play in Illinois so nothing will change.
12
Illinois needs to raise taxes and increase spending to fix its economic problems.
3
Ever lived in IL? We pay quite enough in taxes, thanks.
3
It's a lot more complex than that.
Common sense would suggest a starting point of raising taxes and cutting spending.
2
This is what happens when you elect a self-funded businessman with no political experience. He cares only about his election "promises" while the people suffer. Madigan will never concede (too powerful) nor will Rauner (too stubborn to admit he has no political capital).
One thing the article omits is that the state has to pay interest on all those unpaid bills. By state law: one percent a month and nine percent on medical bills. Mendoza estimated $700 million in interest this past fiscal year. As many of us know, its hard to dig yourself out of a financial hole when interest is piling up.
One thing the article omits is that the state has to pay interest on all those unpaid bills. By state law: one percent a month and nine percent on medical bills. Mendoza estimated $700 million in interest this past fiscal year. As many of us know, its hard to dig yourself out of a financial hole when interest is piling up.
7
This just in time management by Illinois politicians has been going on for more than 20 or 25 years. Legislators do absolutely nothing except campaign to get re-elected. Now I can't read the NYT without interruptions by JB Pritzker campaign ads! I have emailed and called and even told previous Governor Pat Quinn in person to "fix this mess." He replied, "oh yes, I fixed it!" (They made some small tweaks for new hires in the pension system.) His efforts were shut out by he who shall not be named. In Illinois, what is government for, except to say "where's mine?" I just want to live in a state that is not insolvent. Is that too much to ask? Do something! any budget is better than no budget! any commitment to raising revenue and making spending plans is needed here by midnight no matter what it's called. I am a disgusted and appalled Illinois resident.
7
Is this Trump's fault too? What do readers think?
2
Washington has nothing more to do with the finances of Illinois than it had to do with the prior finances of New York. This doesn't have anything to do with when the problem started, doesn't matter who was/is President.
3
But the rich are ok.
3
The rich are leaving. Illinois is the only state in that area of the country with a declining population. If you raise taxes again you might exacerbate the problem by driving out the largest tax payers. See Connecticut for example.
9
Illinois and Chicago should just go bankrupt and get it over with. There is a cancer there no chemo will ever solve.
5
States may not "go bankrupt" since they have the ability to levy taxes.
8
It's amazing the lengths democrats will go to to avoid reforming bloated pensions, corrupt unions, etc. This is what we have to look forward to if liberals ever control Washington.
21
New York City almost went bankrupt. The problem was resolved in New York, not in Washington.
1
-Dg