The blame falls squarely on the voters of Illinois. They elected a Dem governor with strong Dem majorities in the legislature. They knew that the Dems’ position was increase spending and raise taxes and protect government workers. Now the bill has come due. Until the voters throw these bums out, the state will continue to swirl down the toilet just like Detroit.
Now, now, no painting with a broad brush. I live in DuPage County, in a suburb about 30 miles from Chicago, that is the most conservative County in the State of IL. Chicago always votes solidly Dem thus overpowering the downstate areas which too often split Conservative vs. RINO in their vote. Happens all the time. The Pubs split their vote, and the Dem gets in. Sickening.
And specifically the voters of Chicago and Cook County. Quinn won those and three counties downstate. Of those three, he squeaked by in the Democratic strongholds of St. Clair and Jackson Counties. Everything else went strongly Republican. In the legislature, the geographic mix is considerably less lopsided, and party affiliation is less a factor than where the person is from in the state. There are plenty of southern Illinois Democrats who are preferable to northern Illinois Combine RINO's.