Several factors are being attributed to the better-than-expected outcome, including Illinois’ high-income workers, who were able to continue to work from home and thus generate income tax revenue for the state. Illinois was able to continue to collect sales taxes from online companies as consumers shifted their buying patterns.
A largely unasked question is becoming glaring: Is Illinois doing all it should to use artificial intelligence to make government cost less and work better? So far, the evidence says no.