Illinois

Illinois is our most fiscally irresponsible state, courtesy of majority Democratic lawmakers who won't be happy until the Land of Lincoln becomes the first in the nation to be allowed to declare bankruptcy. At least there is bipartisan agreement on political corruption. Both parties share the blame for governors going to prison.

Illinois, an evolving fiscal catastrophe

Where to begin with this evolving fiscal disaster? Pensions that unions and public employees fight tooth and nail to keep in place even though the costs of are unsustainable and saddle taxpayers with unmanageable debt? Irresponsible social policies that cost too much money? Political corruption and waste? How about tax policies bent on extracting every dime from anyone who works and giving the proceeds to everyone who doesn’t?

Chicago epitomizes what’s wrong with the left

You can't discuss Illinois politics without focusing on Chicago, a train wreck of a city fighting tooth and nail to follow Detroit into bankruptcy.

Rahm Emanuel skipped out of Obama's White House to lead one of the most violence-ridden cities in the nation, a place where summer holiday weekends are celebrated with shootings. Emanuel is proud and fiercely protective of his town’s sanctuary policies, which makes Chicago and its appalling gun violence an easy target for Trump. Sadly, even Republican Governor Bruce Rauner endorsed the same dangerous permissiveness when he signed the sanctuary state bill, the Illinois Trust Act.

What is the Illinois category about?

This category covers the political and financial mess that my state has become. From pensions to taxes to angry teachers to careers ending in the slammer, this is Illinois.

Pritzker, Rauner Election Race Won’t Matter. Here’s Why.

Last update August 31, 2018Leave a Comment

Why is the Pritzker, Rauner election race irrelevant to Illinois? The General Assembly will aid, abet, and empower Pritzker. They’ll tax too much so they can spend even more. We’ll still be broke. Nothing will change. The masses who vote but don’t pay taxes will not be appeased. Instead, they will demand even more because they were promised the ranch. With Rauner we get more of the same: higher taxes, no pension fix, and a sanctuary state.

Road Construction Work Zone Law Puts My Life at Risk

Last update August 24, 2018Leave a Comment

Am I going to die today? That’s my question every morning before I get in the car and drive through a road construction work zone on Illinois Route 53 that has a speed limit everyone ignores because no one enforces the law. The state tells me to disobey the work zone limit at my peril. Other drivers expect me to get moving or else. What’s a driver to do when you only want to survive your drive to work?

Protest Mob Tactics in Chicago Raise Awareness of Futility

Last update August 21, 2018Leave a Comment

Even if you are not from Illinois you’ve probably heard about the anti-violence demonstration that rocked Chicago’s Dan Ryan Expressway last Saturday. Using protest mob tactics to raise awareness of something we already know too much about by obstructing people who have nothing to do with the problem is pointless and futile.

Governor’s Race Campaign Spending Could Buy Illinois This

Last update June 15, 2018Leave a Comment

Millions in campaign spending for the Illinois governor’s race is the reason this state is failing. Not that the money could bail us out of the state’s financial crisis even if we spent every penny. It won’t. At best, this money will buy high office in our debt-plagued, 200 year-old Land of Lincoln. Then it will be gone. We could have put the funds to much better use by spending on almost anything but political campaigns. Instead, state politics demands this entrance fee.

Illinois 200 Bicentennial Celebrates Years of Government Abuse

Last update May 3, 2018Leave a Comment

Preparing for the Illinois 200 Bicentennial, Governor Rauner cited our economic, academic, and political achievements. I’m sure if we look hard enough we can scrape up something to be proud of, but Illinois at 200 is a debt-ridden embarrassment that forces kids to compete with public worker retirements. Our political contributions are inertia, reckless spending, abusive government, and forcing taxpayers to support our politicians even after they are out of office and sit in prison. None of this is anything to be proud of, but we might feel some sense of pride when we finally summon the courage to leave this state.