Spahn and Sain..

During the 1948 National League pennant drive, the Milwaukee Braves had two great pitchers…Warren Spahn and Johnny Sain. They were so good that the Braves’ fans started the saying…..”Spahn and Sain and pray for rain.” In other words they had two decent pitchers.

I thought of that 70-year-old phrase when I looked at the Illinois state budget signed by Governor J. B. Pritzker this week. It is a $40-billion dollar spending plan that allows $5-billion dollars in borrowing from the federal reserve. We are dependent on Washington to make it work.

One-fourth of the state budget goes to the state’s underfunded pension system…there’s still a lot of unpaid bills from previous years.

Let me see if I can make this real to you. You have an income of $40-thousand dollars a year….while your unpaid mortgage is $120-grand. Meanwhile, you are depending on a raise….a big one this year from the boss….which would help since last year you couldn’t pay $7-thousand dollars in bills. They are still out there.

It didn’t stop the Governor and legislature from increasing funding for healthcare, transportation, the State Police and the Gaming Board. The cuts elsewhere are minuscule by comparison.

The ’48 Braves had more than just Warren Spahn and Johnny Sain. They had four hitters who batted better than .300. It is really unfair to compare them with Illinois state government…

..where it’s rain, rain..and more rain.