Illinois is broke. While other states (such as California) have higher budget deficits, on a per capita basis Illinois leads the way. Illinois has a $13 billion deficit and some vendors haven’t been paid in nearly seven months.
In last week’s election, Democratic Governor Pat Quinn beat Republican Bill Brady by less than 20,000 votes (out of over 3.6 million cast). Mr. Quinn calls that a mandate to increase Illinois income tax rate by 1% (from 3% to 4%). We’ll see if the state legislature in Springfield agrees with Mr. Quinn or not. One way or another, it’s a mess in Illinois.
You may have noticed that its the “Blue” states which seem to have the biggest problems with state budgets. This includes high tax California and low tax Illinois. Perhaps both states are spending beyond their means though I suspect the public employee unions think that the spending is nowhere near their needs.
[…] You are insolvent when the money you owe (your liabilities) are more than the money you have (your assets). Illinois has been in desperate financial trouble for some time; this won’t be news to readers of this blog. […]