Illinois Has Days to Plug $13 Billion Budget Hole
by Publius
Illinois lawmakers will try this week to accomplish in a few days what they have been unable to do in the past two years — resolve the state’s worst financial crisis.
The legislative session that begins today will take aim at a budget deficit of at least $13 billion, including a backlog of more than $6 billion in unpaid bills and almost $4 billion in missed payments to underfunded state pensions.
The fiscal mess is largely of the lawmakers’ own making, and failure to address the shortages threatens public schools, local governments and other public services, said Dan Hynes, the state’s outgoing comptroller.
“We’ve reached a very critical and concerning point,” Hynes said in an interview in his Chicago office, with packing boxes stacked in the corner. “What’s missing right now is a general understanding by the public of where we are, of how bad it is, and what the fallout would be if we don’t deal with it properly.”
What the public may not appreciate, Wall Street does. Illinois shares with California the lowest U.S. state credit rating from Moody’s Investors Service, which in September forecast possible “further financial deterioration.” Unlike California, Moody’s assigned Illinois a negative outlook.
Illinois’s deficit, about half its $26 billion general-fund budget, puts it among the U.S. states confronting $140 billion in shortfalls in the coming fiscal year after closing $160 billion in gaps this year, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a Washington research group.
Read the whole thing here. This is what almost a decade of complete Democrat dominance of government looks like. Oh, and voters there just reelected the Democrat incumbent.
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92 Comments
We keep flushing money down the drain and it doesn't seem to work any better! Let's try burning it instead. It's faster!
Publius,
your mention of "Plugging the Hole" just jogged my memory.
Back last summer, during the height of the Gulf Oil well blowout, and resulting fallout all over every medium of media, there were a couple people ( I forget who) who wrote an article here, with lofty pronouncements that they were headed to the Gulf on behalf of Big Government, and by Gawd, they were going to " get to the bottom of things" and come back with a true, and unbiased report.
They, and the report, never materialized…………….
This is the RESULT of democrat controlled state government! SPEND, SPEND & SPEND! How's that working out for you? Citizen's can't expect different results electing the same old ……………………..
Hmm, Illinois has been under nothing more than a corrupt, mafioso, Socialist Regime now for what 40+ years now? One just might come to the conclusion that SOCIALISM does NOT WORK …well, a sane person would.
Time to privatize and get rid of the Unions, Gov't Pensions and Health Care …just saying. OR will you try and take over everyone's 401K's in the private sector as 4 other Countries have already done AND our own US Congress has been discussing and trying to figure out how to do as well?
I guess we can see Obama's grand plan playing out in Chi-town first……………collapse the system.
I wonder when the last time we actually heard good news for a change?
PS: I just dug through the archives in the basement. http://biggovernment.com/cdavis/2010/07/07/herita...
It was Charlotte Davis and the Heritage Foundation.
Be prepared to protest loudly and blog a lot as Omarxist take OUR tax money and ships it to Illinois!
lets see …so you spend taxpayers money trying to buy votes…the economy turns sour..taxpayers move away to find jobs and less taxes and we feel sorry for you why again….Socialism works great until you run out of other peoples money…….crash and burn we don't care
Illinois and Peoples Republic of Kalifornia…FLUSH, gurgle, gurgle, oh what a relief it is. /S
Illinois, in the Obama wake……California in the Davis wake, NY in the Cuomo wake, the US in the Pelosi wake ……..I got it! Put Blago back in as governor and see if he can blackmail the payoff from Obama (the Saudis and Pakistanis inside man)! That's where they went wrong by golly!
It would seem cosmically just for either CA or IL to be the first in line. CA insists on electing progressives who lavish tax dollars on union groups and practically punishes business. IL, home state of Obama, Emauel, Jarret, AxelRod and the rest of the corrupt Chicago political machine. Either is emblematic of rot at the federal level.
Illinois state police can't find gas stations that will take the state credit card for fill ups,no wonder I didn't see any state troopers when I went to Sandwich the other day,I guess anarchy is the next phase,no gas,no cops,no way to enforce the law so people will have to protect themselves,I think Americans can do that,let the corrupt system collapse,Americans can rebuild.
I have yet to see any pending bankrupt state begin the necessary severe cuts to begin the restoration
of their deficits, aside from New Jersey. Are they all waiting for the Obama to come to their rescue?
Are they hoping for an Aladdin's lamp and the Genie's three wishes to make it all disappear.
It appears the election of the same culprits that caused the problem are expected to resolve the
problem in most states. If they are waiting for additional taxes to kick in to help thats just more of the same.
Some cities have begun to make the necessary cuts due to non-sufficent funds noted on the returned checks.
If I've missed anything beyond good intentions please tell me
.
I more reason I keep repeating, the new Congress needs to make it clear that there will be NO BAILOUTS for State budgets or State pension funds. Not now. Not ever. Let the people in those States that voted for crooked politicians and government largess feel the pain of their actions. And let them turn on the State politicians that screwed them in the first place.
Still circling the bowl right now. Someone light a match!
A fitting source for the likes of barack obama.
They are certain that barry will bail them out with our money..
Yep.
Let's see him get that past Paul Ryan.
Damn right. Elections have consequences. No bailouts for states that can't manage their budgets. Let them have garage sales and sell off property to pay their debts.
BLUE STATES = EPIC FAILURE!
SUCK IT LIBS!
Liberals – Parasites?
http://theantiliberalzone.blogspot.com/2011/01/li...
The Anti Liberal Zone
So true Marco.
Hell, it's Illinois. Let them claw back some of the money their corrupt politicians siphoned out of the past budgets. They might just end up with a surplus.
Hilarious!
How many times to we have to tell these Socialist States, including New York!
and Obama's Gang, that they have to return to Capitalism. What was the definition of insanity again?…………
Oh, I forgot, they are doing it on purpose. Hmmm
"Let's see him get that past Paul Ryan."
True. But that doesn't mean Bernanke won't side-step Congress and have the Fed start buying State bonds.
They need to listen to the tenets of the Tea Party minded Constitutionalists! – - –
unless they like being poor and oppressed and driving bicycles or 30 yr old cars like Cuba.
It might just take a bankruptcy to wake up the voters of Illinois to the fact that you cannot keep spending money you do not have. You cannot keep giving state employees ridiculously generous pension and pay packages.
The sad thing is many people know why the state is going broke but it will be the school kids and firemen, teachers and cops who will pay the price and not any of the pensioners.
Bernanke had better know better. People have decorated lampposts for less.
Love that! Do not help these Socialist States: Illinois, New York, California, Mass., etc……….
That will modify their behavior……………. Oh wait, I forgot,….we have a marxist president. Hmm…Quick distract him. …. Uh oh, Rham's on the phone……..drat! There goes our tax money, and now an increase in our taxes to boot! Got to get rid of that marxist.
Sorry- all that money has gone to pay off hookers, accountants, laywers and the Obama Administration.
Way to go Hot Rod! He even left us a going away present!
I agree, tho thats like asking Larry Flint of Hustler Mag to read the Bible.
It ain't going to happen.
Dems….Is it too soon to say we told you so? Now, Obama wants Daley in his administration? What a bunch of screw ups.
As a resident of southern Illinois, this just proves what we've always said "down here". As long as there are more stupid people in Chicago than smart people in the rest of the state, nothing will ever get better here.
It is so frustrating! There are 101 counties in Illinios other than Cooke County, yet that one county controls the state. In 2012 and 2014 I'd like to see republican politicians work to mobilize those 101 counties and tell Chicago to go to hell.
I know, I know, it will never happen.
The problem we have with some states, IL, WI, and MI specifically, is that one small area contains a dense population that overrides the rest of the state in voting. Cook County has so many votes cast D that they control the state, same with the Milw/Mad corridor in WI and the Kazoo/AA/Det corridor in MI. All that being said, I moved from IL this year to CO and am dang happy not to be there. Unfortunately, here in CO, the same problem is developing, Den/Boulder votes override the rest of the state and there are many from CA moving here to escape CA and then want the same dang things implemented that ruined CA.
But I recommend all conservatives bail on their liberal states and move west or south. We can take over west of the Mississippi and let the liberal have CA/OR/WA and the east coast. Sorry IN, you are a bastion in the middle of liberal hell.
nope, I lived there. They will keep taxing and taxing with more and more on the public trough
The "plugging" had better be with the resources of Illinois and its brain-dead Democratic voters! Not one penny of federal taxpayer revenue (aka debt) for the most financially irresponsible states like Illinois, California, New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.
Would there be any legal way for one part of a state to separate from that state and start their own state? I am thinking a lot of Illinois would love to "divorce" Chicago. And I suspect there are parts of California that would love to "divorce" LA and San Fransisco.
The solution is Suicide Centers! Vonnegut had it right oh so many years ago in Welcome to the Monkey House. (just the wrong party)
It will become the patriotic duty of the elderly when they reach the age of 65 to visit a local suicide center and have a nice meal, movie, and a black pill. Save the country, save your family. Just think if we could wipe out the BB generation before they ever get a dime of SS money or medicare. Of course, those elite 65 year olds will be excused because they are still valuable.
Poor? Deformed? Mentally below normal? Why they too could do a patriotic act and end their life saving the government billions, as well as their families the pain, heartache and financial problems of caring for them.
Overweight? Why not! Look at all the medical costs with obesity, why that would solve a whole lot of problems.
And those damn Christians, Muslims and Jews. How great would it be without all those religious nuts screwing things up. Let's send them to their god today.
Silly? I'm not so sure. I've been saying for years that the BB, the generation that brought us abortion on demand, will be the first generation euthenized against their will. God is a just God.
Consciously or sub-consciously that is exactly what has developed.
Kicking the funding of Soc.Sec. down the road over the years until it is grossly under funded.
Some states approve of Senior life termination. Paging Dr. Kervorkian.
Releasing the poor, the mental deficient and the deformed into the streets by
closing the institutions that housed them. Next step? Why don't we ease their pain and hello Death Panels.
The World seems to be against the Jews. The Muslims and friends are taking care of the Christians in other countries. Just waitng for the Libs and the Muslims here to team up and wa'la that problem solved for them.
It goes on and on.
Carried on a bit, sorry, but case can be made as you remarked.
Gentle touch with a chain saw…MASSIVE CUTS!!! Do it!
My apologies to RRR and JB1000, I meant to thumb the two of you up and hit the wrong hand.
Wait for it………..Wait…………Congress isn't in session until Wednesday………………Yep, BO or the fed will try for a bailout or a "stimulus" to save the dim-rats.
When I retired from the Marines this summer. I chose to reside in Maryland, instead of returning to my birth state.
One: the jobs were much better.
Two: The atricle posted above.
Count on it. He will either ask congress for a bailout, a stimulus or beg the Fed to do so by purchasing their junk bonds.
"The only way this seance will work is if we all hold hands and close our eyes. Calling the spirit of Al Capone…Al, what should we do?"
"Send all the mobsters…er, I mean Democrat politicians to other states and have them hold-up people and bring the money back here."
"Spirit of Al, couldn't we just send all of them to D.C. and steal the money from the other states? That seems easier."
"That's the Chicago way!"
"Rahm! Get your hand off my knee!"
To survive, these lie-beral states are going to have to learn the hard way…drown!
MS one question, in "Ill" inois is the swirl around the bowl clockwise or counter clockwise? Maybe the solution is to reverse the spiral and add a couple more blue toilest tablets!
how can he send us money, when california will also be calling? the newly elected guv wants to fix the problem, you guessed it, by borrowing yet more money. the democrat way to fix everything, pull out the plastic.
California has all of the resources for prosperity, however, they're being pinned down by hard-core, left wing environmentalists. Grief, they have large oil fields offshore, but again, the enviros=1, Kali=0. Plus the federal government recently shut down a large area of farming in San Joaquin Valley (bread basket) by turning off the water, for believe it, to protect a two inch fish that's not even native to the area. It's PC gone jackassery!
well, we can give california to mexico, if it does not fall into the ocean first, but who would want us in il? we have rotten winters, no mountains, just piles of debts, and nobody to pay for this mess.
i live in il, and i cannot believe quinn got elected. the state is broke from dem policies, and yet the dems retained power in illinois, don't figure?
now, which fireman, teachers and cops are you referring to? the ones still working, or the ones getting these lavish pensions? that scumbag drew peterson from bolingbrook, he gets something like 80 grand for a pension. my sister served the same time in the millitary, and also she was a cop there, and she gets less than half the pension, for a far more dangerous job. the state mandates local villages pay the state union pension fund for employees. the kids aren't learning, and if they stopped paying these government parasites, we might end our problems.
all of the liberals are moving into the red states, after screwing up thier old ones. then the transplanted libs, keep voting for the same crap they left from. any new residents moving into red states should be tested. if they fail the lib test, they should not be allowed to move in.
hey, i am a conservative, and i voted against the dems, but they still won. i don't know anybody who voted for the dems, but then i do not live right in chicago.
Disaster of their own making. Could not happen to a more deserving bunch of Dumbocrats.
all states are doing it. it's called hospice. happened with my mom. by the time I figured it out, it was too late to turn back. bastards. for six years my dad and I cared for her, picked her out of bed and put her on a portable toilet when she couldn't get out herself, always in pain. we thought we were getting pain management. Know what it feels like for giving your mom morphine and realizing it's going to kill her?
Tears over, I'll continue.
I reread the paragraph on BB and it really hit me. We, the BB, supported the WWII and silent gen in their wonderful retirements. Now the system is broke with the largest gen ever about to expect the same. Wipe out the BB and problem is all solved. All of we BB got a monkey virus in our polio vaccines, already shows up in many cancers, smack dab at the center of the tumor. All you need is a stimulus to activate the virus. Scary huh. Paging Alex Jones and Jessie Ventura.
Fault lies with the state legislature, that gave illegal aliens the sky, and to the federal courts that knocked down every voter initiative against illegal aliens. The state is now a huge welfare bust.
Buh-bye Illinois! Good riddance! I hope they become part of Canada and take Louis Farrakhan with them.
no swirling at all — it goes down so fast it should be arrested for violating the laws of physics!
Even a black hole has an event horizon.
I'm sorry about the way you experienced your Mom's passing, not easy
under the best of circumstances.
Time is running out on American life as we have known it. I don't know if
this is our last chance (2010 and 2012 elections) to turn things around
for our sake or the children's sake. Its a bit scary.
Total idiots. Normally they try to control or destroy invasive species.
And they don't see that their mental disease has created the situation.
this makes a black hole look like a bad Denny's meal served on one of those green melmac plates that look like they've never been washed since the Nixon adminstration.
Same here, Peteee.
After Quinn took over Blago's post, he started acting more and more like the helmet-headed
devil. I personally believe Quinn won the election because a lot of State election committees failed to send absentee ballots to the soldiers serving overseas.
These ACORN wannabes made sure the military didn't have their right to vote and we taxpayers ended up with this mess of a Governor.
If Illinois would just flush Chicago down the crapper, they could recover from this. If kalifornia would just flush LA and San Fran, they too would recover. There is a pattern. Too bad the dems can't see it.
Yes, JB, those of us downstate would just love to secede from the pit called Chicago. Cook County is basically a "sanction state" for illegal immigrants and most of the voters there would elect a ham sandwich if they put a "D" in front of it.
They make me sick peteee! Two years of mowing US all down. batards. I'm going to enjoy all of these new energetic Congress members kicking up a lot of stuff that Narcissists, like obama hate- Criticism and judgement! Obama is going to be flailing like a windmill to fight back! It's going to be great!
It's a great relief to FINALLY get some backing. It's like being the victim of bullies for two years, and finally a bad arse gang comes to our defense. They're smart, and they're determined, and they've got POWER! Finally the Big Bully meets his match!! ..Haha haha! Can't help it, I'm relieved! and proud of our great American elected officials. – - Note to Congress: Don't let US down. Fight for U.S!
You ain't missing anything…trust me.
You're welcome.
Don't foget in MN it's Minneapolis + Saint Paul, in NY it's NY, in CA it's LA + San Francisco, in WA it's Seatle, in Oregon it's Portland, in MA it's okay that might be the whole state, etc.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
A smart Republican presidential candidate will point out what is happening to CA, NY, Il, and other liberal strongholds is what can happen to the nation if Obama is given another four years.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
My apologies! As a Wisconsin neighbor, Illinois election results are frustrating to watch.
35 miles SW of Chicago here. Hey folks, its not that we all voted to retain the liberal democratic machine. What we have heree in Illinois is a red state run over by a big blue city. Quinn won the govship by 16000 votes. He lost every county except 3, two of which were like 51% dem. Only Cook county , home of the corrupt broken political machine, home of the highest taxes in the country, elected Quinn, by an astounding 600,00 votes to 300,000 for the repub. Cook county is running and ruining this state and this country now. Daily is quitting, after he finally dug such a deep hole that he cant find a way out. He sold the citys parking revenue for 75 years for two years worth of income. This is what dems do. ITs all a welfare state redistribution of wealth, high tax, gun control and union stronghold. I am in a union too. They have doubled taxes on vehicles in the last few years, making it very un appealing to have equipment that requires a license. They are now offering amnesty to everybody who will voluntarily pay sales tax retro active to 2004 on goods bought over the internet. This state is on the brink.
wait a minute.. so he's claiming:
"What’s missing right now is a general understanding by the public of where we are, of how bad it is, and what the fallout would be if we don’t deal with it properly.”"
Uhm. in case he aint' noticed…. it ain't the average Joe Q Public that's noticed the problems.. its' the peons in the various state houses… Oh wait, I get it.. it's liberal speak for..
"You don't realize how broke we are, so give us your money!"???
Whenever there are extreme budget shortfall the first thing a city or a state does is layoff cops, firemen and teachers.
Then they start closing down schools.
They always start cutting the very things that will get people angry then demand a property tax increase to pay for these services.
Cook County not Cooke
But I agree with you.
The last election should have put a little wind in your sail. And, we are going to do it again.
Our new Governor for WI, Scott Walker has a TEA Party attitude.
He was inaugarated at noon, yesterday….about an hour and a half ceremony.
He started doing the job immediately in the afternoon, by calling a special session with the Assembly and the Senate to have an Emergency meeting reggarding economics for WI.
Goals: Reduce the size of Govt….Cut Spending….No New Taxes at all, which work towards creating jobs.
He has "Privatized" the Chamber of Commerce, which will change towards being the Private Sales Forces to help our State….It still be "hooked up" with our WI Govt, possibly as a Private Contractor might be hired and/or fired.
Us Conservatives in this State are so happy. It's put a great wind in our sail. WI was operating more like a Progressive, socialist body in the past. And, that's going to change.
The "ax" has to drop sometime. Did you ever experience a personal bankruptcy. I did. It ain't no fun at all. However, I needed relief and got relief.
The banking and tax systems were created by the socilists in the early 1900's…They called themselves the Progressive Party.
It';s an Unrighteous system acdg to Bible Economics 101, and will always collapse.
That's one of the many reasons for the European Border wars. A nation gets indebted with interest to another. Can't pay it back. The lender attacks and gets the collateral for the Loan.
These debts, can't be paid back when they have interest charges associated with the loan. No currency was issued for the interest portion of the loan. It's non-existent. Only the Principal monies were in circulation.
It's a scam. Activities like this in the O.T. was a Capital Crime, and punishable by death, when done to another citizen in their Nation.
CA tried this years ago…to have North CA and South CA. didn't happen.
I like the idea of having 51 States, and I would say that it is biblically correct acdg to Bible Numerics 101.
Chicago businesses may immigrate to WI as we are going to have huge Conservative Changes made with our new Governor, Scott Walker. PTL
Lucky uou escaped. Why couldn't we have an eletoral college system set up for our State Govts to use?
Progressives are trying to destroy our electoral college. Then, Chicago would control the State's electoral votes. Same for Milwaukee, WI where I live.
There are 8 States that have no State Income Taxes. Check this out with the National Taxpayers Union,.
I joined Heritage last year. PTL
Al Capone ran Chicago for quite awhile, too.
A friend of mine sells food to the Chicago Public Schools. The limit of what they can buy food for is 92 cents per student per day for lunch! I spend more to feed my dog.
Quinn want to borrow $15 billion and raise taxes another 1% generating $3.1 billion in additional revenue per yr. Oh, yes, and the annual deficit will hit $15 billion by this June. And let's not forget that Moody's is, yet again, downgraining the $160 billion of Illinois debt meaning higher interest.
81% of the total debt ($130 billion) sits on the books of posh public pension plans. That equates to a debt of $25,000 per household—just to pay looming pensions. http://www.thetrumpet.com/index.php?q=7807.6405.0...
I ain't no genius but I do believe this house of cards is ready to collapse.
As a Chicagoan, I try to stay calm, but these days, after such a disasterous local election cycle, I have nothing to say but:
WHAT KIND OF F&&%%ING MORONS ARE LIVING IN CHICAGO?!! INSANITY IS DEFINED AS RE-ELECTING THE SAME POLITICIANS AND EXPECTING A DIFFERENT RESULT!!
I've heard and witnessed unionoids stuffing ballot boxes and tampering with machines. But seriously, how can we get otherwise rational prudent people to see things through our eyes?
It will be facinating to see what sort of quasi-legal Rube Goldberg devices that Gov. Quinn and the amazingly corrupt Ilinois state government come up with to deal with this shortfall. Perhaps they can pass a new version of Great Britain's famous "Window Tax" of 1696. This would allow for property taxes based on the number of windows on a building and would be a real cash-cow given all of the Mies van der Rohe buildings in Chicago.
One thing is certain. It's going to be "Gunfight at the OK Corral" time for the legislature and the public-sector workers. As a matter of pure economics the state cannot close this deficit without very real and very significant concessions by the state unions. We also know that given the craven nature of Illinois lawmakers they will bolt and run at the first sign union opposition. If I was a downstate GOP legislator I would retire to the spectator's gallery with a case of beer and a cooler full of sandwiches and just watch the Dems and the unions go after each other.
Leave it to the brain dead voters in Illinois. They just reelected all Democrat incumbents to continue the plundering of the State Treasury. Look for your taxes to double or triple you brilliant people from Illinois. You deserve the government you vote for.
Someone to root for, good luck with the Chicago bunch. I look forward to pointing to your state with pride,
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