After going 736 days without a budget, the Illinois House finally pushed one through. This may not be enough to save the state from a junk bond rating. This would make Illinois the first state to ever fall to this rating.
CNN describes the state’s current financial situation as “[remaining] in a financial mess following decades of mismanagement and the recent budget fight. The state has racked up $15 billion of unpaid bills and owes a quarter-trillion dollars in pensions to state workers when they retire.”
In order to pass the budget, the House had to override Governor Rauner’s veto. The governor believes the budget “solve[s] none of the problems” even with the $5 billion of tax revenue to be raised.
It seems that the governor may be correct as Illinois lost more residents than any state last year and the increased taxes could push more people and businesses to depart.
Regardless, the state should not be punishing the citizens of Illinois because of the shortfalls of the government. Those politicians who have mismanaged state funds over the decades should be accountable for the damage they caused.