Springfield seems unable to solve its long-running financial problems. Who would have thought increasing taxes and spending simultaneously would cause a bad situation to get worse.
Last month we were given the lowest credit rating of any state in the country by Moody’s Investors Service, a move that will increase costs to us taxpayers.
Their bills are going unpaid, the pension obligations are growing. If lawmakers do not reform pensions, dollars for core government services will be crowded out by rising retirement costs. When Illinois sends more dollars to teacher retirements than it does to the classroom, the state is choosing pensions over schools. My bet is pensions will win.
There just does not seem to be any urgency to cutting costs, salaries nor pensions. When Quinn took office he gave himself and his people raises and campaigned on raising taxes. When will we see a balanced budget?