A Year Of Reckoning

Illinois’ destruction continues, unabated, by the current Governor. In fact, I think his policies and his cronies in the legislature will hasten the state’s demise.

The U.S. Census Bureau announced last week what we could have predicted---the exodus continues. The state had 51,000 people move elsewhere in 2019, the sixth consecutive year Illinois has lost population. Let me give you a mental picture---If every resident of Wayne, Edwards, Wabash and White counties decided to move out of the state, that would only be 47,000 people. We’d still have to find a town Fairfield’s size to throw in to give us the 51-grand.

Against that backdrop, we have doubled down on the failed strategy of raising taxes to solve the state’s financial problems. Since 2011, when a “temporary” income tax hike was enacted, the state’s net debt has quadrupled.

There has literally been nothing done about pension reform.  Official estimates currently peg Illinois' combined local pension debt at around $63 billion. If you look at just Chicago’s pension debt----it stands as more than that of 44 U.S. states.

Before the end of 2019, the Governor gave $10-million dollars to a group which will spend it trying to convince Illinoisans they need to change the state constitution to allow a progressive tax. The last state to do so was Connecticut. It didn’t work there and—if it wins approval in the November election-- it won’t here.

New taxes hit this week for vehicle trade-ins and vehicle registration. This will be a year of reckoning for Illinois.

I reckon it won’t be a good one.