For those who don’t know, Metropolis has only two things going for it. A Superman statue that tourists can take selfies with and a riverboat casino. Problem was, that the entire Ohio river belongs to Kentucky and Kentucky, which doesn’t allow casinos threatened to seize the boat as soon as it left the Illinois shore. Case went to the Supreme Court which ruled that the border was where the river was in the 1790s and therefore gave Illinois a small stretch river so the boat could sail.
With some exceptions Southern Illinois is a pretty depressing place. All political power in Illinois is held by the Chicago area, so the people in Southern Illinois are effectively voiceless in state government. But as sad as Metropolis is, a few miles downriver is Cairo which makes Metropolis appear to be a thriving community.
“llinois is home to a few powerful interests who believe one problem is at the root of the state’s horrific finances.
Oct 27, 2017
It’s not the sinkhole of pension debt swirling beneath Springfield and communities across the state. It’s not the Illinoisans leaving — one every five minutes — to other states, taking their taxable incomes with them. It’s not the deck that’s been stacked against taxpayers for decades. And of course, it’s not that the state’s spending is out of control.
The problem, they say, is that Illinois does not tax its residents enough.
It’s a scary thought.
And without fail, the proposed solution to this non-existent problem is as follows: Change the state’s constitution and pass a progressive tax hike.
As opposed to Illinois’ flat tax, where all earners are meant to pay an equal percentage of their income to the state, a progressive tax structure allows the state to set different tax rates for different incomes.
There would be arguably no bigger political victory for House Speaker Mike Madigan and his caucus. Every major Democratic candidate for governor — J.B. Pritzker, Chris Kennedy and Daniel Biss — has openly endorsed a progressive income tax as the solution to Illinois’ fiscal woes.”
Is Smallville nearby?