The editors of the Chicago Tribune call the Powers-That-Be here in the state of Illinois to take our fiscal problems seriously. I agree with their closing paragraph:
At some point — maybe now — Democratic leaders have to decide: Will we keep blocking reforms that would cut government costs? Or will we tell our union allies the truth? We can compromise to rescue failing governments. Or we can let them, and many union jobs, implode.
The question I think we have to ask is why is Mike Madigan, speaker of the Illinois House and the real power in the state, doing nothing? I think it’s because regardless of what he chooses to do, he loses. Like Marley’s Ghost, he wears the chains he forged in life. We’re all wearing them. He’s hoping somebody comes along who’ll share that burden with him and Gov. Rauner is refusing to play along.
