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Column: Why is Illinois really circling the drain?
Chicago Tribune ^ | June 2, 2016 | Eric Zorn

Posted on 06/03/2016 2:12:12 PM PDT by Carl Vehse

"The Democrats have spent our state into the toilet for 30 years"Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, speaking to reporters Tuesday in Springfield

"Nice sound bite! And he's right about the plumbing situation. Without question, Illinois' financial condition is metaphorically akin to unpleasant substances found deep in the commode, and it's getting worse every day the nearly yearlong budget stalemate continues."

(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; US: Illinois
KEYWORDS: chicago; illinois; kakistocracy; pensions; rahm; rauner
The rest of the article is spindoctoring to minimuze blaming the Demonicrats by dumping some of the load on Illinois RINOcrats.

The swirling monster floater that will totally clog the system completely? Public employee pension funds (or the total lack thereof).

And guess where the Illinois kakistocrats will go hat-in-hand for the money.

1 posted on 06/03/2016 2:12:12 PM PDT by Carl Vehse
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To: Carl Vehse

They’ve done the same to Michigan and trying to do the same to the Nation.


2 posted on 06/03/2016 2:18:48 PM PDT by SandRat (Duty - Honor - Country! What else need s said?)
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To: Carl Vehse
"Why is Illinois really circling the drain? "

Corrupt public officials at the city, county, state, and federal levels.

3 posted on 06/03/2016 2:21:33 PM PDT by blackdog (There is no such thing as healing, only a balance between destructive and constructive forces.)
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To: Carl Vehse

As I traverse Illinois occasionally, I always make sure to make no tax payments to the state (except for unavoidable tolls if traffic forces oute selection).


4 posted on 06/03/2016 2:27:00 PM PDT by Paladin2 (Live Free or Die.)
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To: Carl Vehse

Global leadership has the whole world population circling the drain while building secured, quasi-utopian compounds for itself and shrinking the economy to fit itself. And political suck-ups won’t be included in those oases.


5 posted on 06/03/2016 2:27:01 PM PDT by familyop ("Welcome to Costco. I love you." --Costco greeter in the movie, "Idiocracy")
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To: Carl Vehse

As I traverse Illinois occasionally, I always make sure to make no tax payments to the state (except for unavoidable tolls if traffic forces route selection).


6 posted on 06/03/2016 2:27:19 PM PDT by Paladin2 (Live Free or Die.)
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To: Carl Vehse

Why is Illinois really circling the drain?

Because Chicago really does suck that much.


7 posted on 06/03/2016 2:28:43 PM PDT by Delta 21 (Patiently waiting for the jack booted kick at my door.)
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To: Delta 21

“Why is Illinois really circling the drain?

Because Chicago really does suck that much”

Save Rigley Field and Gino’s East Pizza then lets finish off what the Oleary’s cow started started in 1871.


8 posted on 06/03/2016 2:45:09 PM PDT by DAC21
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To: Carl Vehse

Coomie democRATs ...


9 posted on 06/03/2016 2:53:48 PM PDT by VRWC For Truth (FUBO)
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To: Carl Vehse
The rest of the article is spindoctoring to minimize blaming the Demonicrat

I figured that when he said: And he's right about the plumbing situation. Didn't feel the need to read any further as the writing on the wall to come, was as clear as a bell.

10 posted on 06/03/2016 2:54:02 PM PDT by Robert DeLong (u)
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To: DAC21

Edwardos stuffed pizza.


11 posted on 06/03/2016 2:55:01 PM PDT by Secret Agent Man (Gone Galt; Not averse to Going Bronson.)
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To: Paladin2

An interesting factoid. In the rich northern suburbs of Chicago, the million dollar houses aren’t selling and twice the number normally available are sitting on the market. People are not buying in Illinois. They know the property taxes, sales taxes, and income taxes are going higher. So, the rich own homes in Indian, Florida and Wisconsin. In Illinois they just rent. The rats are leaving the ship. Property taxes and sales taxes are already the highest in the country and there hasn’t been a dent in the debt.

Oh by the way, Its the Chicago media that really should own this problem. They have been against any fix. While they don’t mind pointing out that an issue exists, they always write scathing articles about any solution. And they certainly did not complain about rich pensions when they came into being. The Chicago Tribune is the worst at slamming any possible fix.


12 posted on 06/03/2016 3:00:19 PM PDT by poinq
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To: Carl Vehse
Illinois has had Republican governors for 18 of the past 30 years

Yet those Republican Governors were forced to go along with the Dems by the Chicago Tribune and other leftist outfits or else they were called right-wing extremists.

This is why it makes no sense for Republicans to act like Dems even in blue hell-holes like IL and CA. They're going to get blamed no matter how much liberal @ss they kiss.

13 posted on 06/03/2016 3:08:59 PM PDT by Extremely Extreme Extremist (MAGA! Make America Great Again)
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To: Carl Vehse

Zorn is and always has been a leftie apologist of the most reliable kind.

After throwing around a bunch of minimally relevant figures, he (predictably) misses a chance to home in on the real problem: for decades, the donkeycrats have been buying votes of the teacher’s union and public employees in both the primaries and the generals by pushing extravagant pensions and benefits, the cost of which would not come due until those legislators were well-entrenched in office or comfortably retired. And to top it off, they orchestrated a change in the state constitution that makes it virtually impossible to modify those commitments once made.

The result is a budget problem that gets worse and worse each year, unless other state services are slashed or taxes raised in a precipitous fashion. As an indication of the scope of this problem, I read that a sixth of those earning salaries in Illinois work for the state, and a significant number of them get six-figure salaries.

So unless somebody discovers a Bakken-size oil field under the cornfields, figure on a Detroit-style outcome sometime in the next couple of decades. And all those screwed in that downdraft can send their thank you’s to the Chicago Teachers Union and the SEIU.


14 posted on 06/03/2016 3:45:10 PM PDT by Stosh
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