There are an assortment of stories about the dire conditions of the state of Illinois’s finances today. Here’s one from the New York Times:
CHICAGO — Even by the standards of this deficit-ridden state, Illinois’s comptroller, Daniel W. Hynes, faces an ugly balance sheet. Precisely how ugly becomes clear when he beckons you into his office to examine his daily briefing memo.
He picks the papers off his desk and points to a figure in red: $5.01 billion.
“This is what the state owes right now to schools, rehabilitation centers, child care, the state university — and it’s getting worse every single day,†he says in his downtown office.
Mr. Hynes shakes his head. “This is not some esoteric budget issue; we are not paying bills for absolutely essential services,†he says. “That is obscene.â€
For the last few years, California stood more or less unchallenged as a symbol of the fiscal collapse of states during the recession. Now Illinois has shouldered to the fore, as its dysfunctional political class refuses to pay the state’s bills and refuses to take the painful steps — cuts and tax increases — to close a deficit of at least $12 billion, equal to nearly half the state’s budget.
Here’s the good news: 90% or more of incumbents in Illinois will be re-elected come November.
I didn’t vote for Rod Blagojevich for governor initially because he was a manifest idiot. I didn’t vote for him for re-election because he was a manifest idiot and fiscally irresponsible, insisting on expanding state services rather than funding Illinois’s public pensions, an obvious necessity. Now our chickens are coming home to roost, a consequence of over-promising and under-performing.
