Free Republic

Illinois Democrats have ferociously resisted efforts by Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner to cut spending and challenge the state's immensely powerful alliance of unions. And the state Supreme Court has repeatedly spiked even the most modest efforts at pension reform. So the stalemate rolls on. The taxpayers are Illinois' forgotten man. It's not just that they pay high taxes in return for poor services — it's that they are effective feudal servants to the unions. Consider the graph below. It encapsulates the vast discrepancy between what Illinois government workers pay toward their pensions and what private taxpayers pay. There's a simple...