Illinois is Broke: Financial Problems Pushing State to Edge of Financial Abyss

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Chicago - Illinois is on the edge of an economic abyss: low on cash, low on options and the evidence is not pretty.
The state is $13 billion in debt.

The CTA is $130 million in the hole, which has led the agency to lay off more than a thousand workers.

The Chicago Public Schools system is $800 million in the red, which has forced the district to lay off 2,700 people.
Illinois' jobless rate is 10.8 percent, and it ranks in the top 10 states with high foreclosure rates.

John Tillman, the CEO of the Illinois Policy Institute, said there are five reasons why our state's economy is in the toilet.

First, he believes that Illinois politicians and residents love to spend.

Second, politicians have not learned how to say "no" and stop the handouts.

Third, he said we're now suffering from decades of failing to save. He said the state has always believed the good times will roll on and on.

Fourth, he believes politicians lack the will to say no to the people who fund campaigns.

And finally, he said poiltical corruption costs the state millions as taxpayers are cheated out of honest services.

To learn more about the financial challenge faced by the state of Illinois and what can be done about it, go to www.illinoisisbroke.com.