By: Mark Glennon*
You’d think Gov. JB Pritzker would start worrying about being branded as entirely unserious, partisan and dishonest about Illinois’ problems. Consider what he said in a Wednesday video press briefing about population loss and a potential federal bailout.
Pritzker was asked about the seventh straight year of shrinking Illinois population announced Tuesday by the Census Bureau. “To what do you attribute the decline?” was included in the question.
Rauner. Former Governor Bruce Rauner. Pritzker added nothing else.
No, Governor, the reasons comprise a catalog of incompetence, corruption and malfeasance extending decades back, perpetrated by members of both parties but primarily by your own, the consequences of which take years to show up. Illinoisans know that, and you are succeeding only in convincing them that you think partisan deceit is a viable alternative to facts.
Pritzker is enabled by a press corps that’s often as unserious as he is. As usual, no follow-up questions were attempted or allowed on Wednesday, a routine they sheepishly accept.
In fact, Pritzker seems to have followed the lead of Greg Hinz by using the same deceitful wording Hinz used Tuesday to blame Rauner for the population loss. Hinz is the Crain’s political reporter/commentator. (There’s supposed to be a difference, but that’s another story.)
Specifically, Pritzker said Illinois has been “losing population for seven of last ten years, and for most of that under Gov. Bruce Rauner people had lost faith in state government and getting things done.” Hinz had blamed Rauner in the same way. Dismissing other reasons for the population decline, Hinz wrote that “most of the drop occurred during the tenure of former Gov. Bruce Rauner.” It might be literally true that Rauner was in office for four of those seven years, but to pin the consequences of years of earlier failures on him, whatever his blunders were, is simply dishonest.**
Pritkzer wasn’t through. When asked about the delay in a federal relief bill for state and local governments, he made an an astonishingly partisan and dishonest claim. He said about half of Congressional Republicans won’t vote for “any” state and local help, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Nobody in the press has yet called him out on that, either, but here are some facts:
- The earlier CARES Act passed both the House and Senate unanimously and gave $150 billion to state and local governments, much of which remains unspent and unaccounted for. Trillions more that indirectly helped the state were authorized with bipartisan votes.
- Congressional Republicans made several new proposals over the last few months containing state and local relief of as much as $300 billion in new money.
- And just this week, the Omnibus Spending Bill passed the House and Senate with overwhelming, bipartisan majorities. It includes an extremely generous $82 billion for schools and $14 billion for regional transit. McConnell voted for it and only six Republican senators dissented from the 5,000-page, pork-filled monstrosity.
Denial and partisan dishonesty rule in Illinois.
*Mark Glennon is founder of Wirepoints.
**For those of you who might believe that Rauner caused most of Illinois’ problems, reproduced below is a summary we did in February 2019 on how things stood when Rauner took office:
Start by looking at what Pritzker’s own party said before Rauner became governor.
The state’s crisis was already severe enough to override the constitutional pension protection clause under the “police power” doctrine, something historically used in only extraordinary circumstances. Democratic Attorney General Lisa Madigan argued that position in 2014. Only benefit cuts, not tax increases, could work, she told the Illinois Supreme Court in defending SB 1, a law that would have cut some pension benefits.
She cited express legislative findings saying the same—findings made when Democrats held supermajorities in both houses of the General Assembly. “The fiscal problems facing the state and its retirement systems cannot be solved without making some changes to the structure of the retirement systems.” (Emphasis added.)
Today, that’s all off the table. No changes to pension benefits are needed, Pritzker says. And he won’t consider a constitutional amendment to override the court’s ruling invalidating SB 1.
Consider these additional facts about where we stood before Rauner took office:
-
- Illinois’ negative Total Primary Government Net Position—basically, its negative net worth—had dropped by a staggering $106 billion from 2006 to 2015, reaching negative $121 billion.
- The state’s unfunded pension obligations tripled from $35 billion in 2003 to $105 billion the year before Rauner took over.
- State budgets had never balanced since 2001, even under the state’s phony budget accounting that ignores growing debt.
- Rating agencies had issued 13 credit downgrades on the state since 2009. Illinois’ credit rating was already the nation’s worst.
- Illinois’ population loss, now five years running, had already begun.
- The state’s unpaid bill backlog was about $6.6 billion and had already begun ticking back up, despite the temporary tax increase then in place.
- Social service providers were already reeling. Illinois ranked No. 1 in the country in the percentage of nonprofit groups facing payment delays, an Urban Institute survey found. “We are basically bankrolling the state. It’s a ridiculous situation,” said one provider. “It’s just absolutely awful and there seems to be no end in sight.”
None of this is to excuse Rauner. He was incompetent in many ways. The budget impasse indeed caused lasting damage to the state, and Rauner handled it horribly. Much of the Digging Out report is true—as far as it goes.
But it’s grossly incomplete. By blaming everything on Rauner and the budget impasse, the report hides the reality that our problems are structural, systemic and old. Our model of government is fundamentally broken. We simply aren’t generating the growth, employment and resulting tax base needed to meet the promises we have made and deliver the basic services Illinoisans expect. Rauner inherited that. Pritzker inherited that.
The 2015-17 budget impasse was resolved when Democrats got the solution they had demanded all along: a tax increase with no reforms.
A set of state lawmakers want to extend CPS’ current school closing moratorium to February 1, 2027 – the same year CPS is set to transition to a fully-elected school board. That means schools like Manley High School, with capacity for more than 1,000 students but enrollment of just 78, can’t be closed for anther three years. The school spends $45,000 per student, but just 2.4% of students read at grade level.
Hopefully, all media will get the message, in Illinois, too.
Ted joined Tom Miller of WJPF to talk about Illinois’ highest-in-the-nation property taxes, why lawmakers don’t want to touch the tax’s cost drivers, just how much Illinoisans’ tax burden has grown over the decades, why Gov. Pritzker failed to meet his promise to reform property taxes, and more.
Anything other then “Democratic Rule for 50 years” for Illinois failures is a lie, sure the Republicans didn’t help but they mostly couldn’t do squat even if the wanted to.
Obama blamed his disastrous, lawless administration on Bush for eight years. Pritzker is a good student who is well versed in disastrous governing and lawlessness.
Why did Jabba even want or take this job? Maybe the minority underneath him could do a better job with all of her skin privilege – I’m sure that would save IL for sure
I can only think that he craves adulation or power, probably both. Why would any sane person want the job?
Who would have thought that Illinois residents would have the foresight to anticipate Bruce Rauner’s election and start moving out years out before he took office? And why haven’t they started coming back now that we have such a wise, benevolent and truthful Governor?
Put the blame where it’s due and it isn’t on Rauner this is pritzker and madigan, unfortunately madigan is going to be the fall guy, but this governor is horrible he came through the door giving raises which pissed me off and he has no real clue on how to fix illinois. I’m so happy I left in August so the total people left didn’t include me and my family the poll went from July 19 to July 20. Now he can talk about covid-19 until the end of his term unless people there want him back, but knowing illinois… Read more »
What’s particularly discouraging for me is the effortless way that all the stakeholders who’ve created this mess – buy-votes-w-free-stuff politicians, public employee unions, the Medicaid Industrial Complex, pay-day-loan guv’mnt bond agencies – continue to get away with pretending that rearranging the sinking SS Illinois’ deck chairs is the same thing as doing something about the gapping holes in our hull.
Motion, badly camouflaged as progress.
Twitter did not fact check the December 23, 2020 Illinois Governor JB Pritzker Covid-19 press briefing?
https://twitter.com/GovPritzker/status/1341804578736648195
https://coronavirus.illinois.gov/s/news
The state puts the COVID-19 press briefings on Vimeo instead of YouTube.
https://vimeo.com/stateofillinois/videos
https://vimeo.com/494201405
More people search for videos on YouTube than Vimeo, so if reaching the greatest number of viewers is the goal, that is an odd choice.
He is pot calling kettle ……
As was stated elsewhere–he needs to find a mirror wide enough for the ego and the girth and there is the cause of the population of Illinois leaving–looking back at him in the mirror.
He probably still feels that this gets his foot into the door of a presidential running. Running being the optimal word
You all know jb is not gonna “run” anywhere!-lol-unless theres a dunkin donuts nearby with 2 for 1 jelly donuts on sale!
Well I am surprised it wasn’t Trump and Raunner
I will be one among the masses who are leaving due to high taxation, the risks of living too close to Chicago. My town has one of the highest tax rates in the surrounding counties and i see no end. If you look the revised license plates, even Lincoln is leaving
Great lline about Lincoln on the plates!
Still true that no candidate has yet lost an election due to having underestimated the intelligence of the median Illinois voter.
When will press ask JB him come his family is living in FL? Participating in sport, dinner out and school? Liberal press is a joke!
The Dictator is not worried about being branded as unserious because he knows the sycophant media is covering his enormous backside
anyone surprised?…ruling party has no shame
No ethics or solutions for the problems either.
Another solution to moderating the cost of these over generous pensions is to listen and pay attention to A growing chorus of pension experts who are beginning to suggest that pension payments be reduced for public retirees who move out of state. These people don’t vote in Illinois any longer therefore will not be a political issue. Only issue may be legal but the depends on how it’s structured.
“Only issue may be legal”
That’s it? Just the legal issue? That’s everything.
The truth is that the state will owe the pensions, and they must be paid, but there simply won’t be any money to pay them. The state will likely be a failed state collapsing in upon itself that day the pension funds make their last scheduled payment. This is inevitable, and there will be plenty of warning before that day comes, but the unions and legislators and pensioners have their heads in the ground hoping that it’s all just a bad dream. After JB said he wanted furloughs, the state’s union just said the other day that no state employee… Read more »
How can you believe that people with this much power are not simply greedy? Isn’t it more likely that their actions serve to bring about conditions even more profitable to themselves?
I believe this is a deliberately orchestrated cram down of Illinois property value by political class insiders, who will have access to leveraged OPM to purchase our busted out real estate at pennies on dollar of current values.
At such time as them such as Pritzker own substantially all Illinois land, pension reform may be allowed.
Nail hit right on head. “I believe this is a deliberately orchestrated cram down of Illinois property value by political class insiders”.
Think of all the small buildings and shops that will go vacant – already happening around me.
Another point – why were Target, Walmart and Menards and other big box stores considered essential businesses by our Governor to remain open?
I worked in Menards. Know where most of their supplies come from? China. Connect the dots with Beijing Biden and the Establishment Election Steal.
Unfortunately, that wouldn’t be permissible under our state court rulings on the pension protection clause. Would have to amend that first. And other federal constitutional issues might then arise if that were tried, though I haven’t really thought that through.
Balanced budget amendment ? #2 infringements? Pensions are next.
The solution would bve clearly unconstitutional. But nothing in the Illinois Constitution prohibits the legikslature from going to a drefined contribution type of pension for new hires. But neither Pritzker nor any one of the others beholden to the public sector unions wants to even think about that. And they won’t until the state can’t cut the pension checks and the pensioners’ unions get serious.
It isn’t just people leaving. Just think of all the yearly salary government sector pension checks being mailed to Florida and anywhere else but here. Overpromised cash that doesn’t even get spent here, taxed here, or spent on a mortgage here.
Over 80% of the public pension retirees stay in Illinois. Illinois annually spends about $14 billion in public sector pension benefits with about $2.4 billion flowing out of state. Florida receives the most followed by Arizona, Wisconsin, Indiana, Missouri. Those 5 states receive about half of the $2.4 billion. Other than Florida, those other states do not offer the same favorable tax treatment for pension income. So whatever they save on property taxes most likely goes to cover their new income tax. These people are not just leaving because of taxes.
“So whatever they save on property taxes most likely goes to cover their new income tax. These people are not just leaving because of taxes.” AZ’s income tax rate is 3.34% for joint filers up to $106,000 with a generous $24,400 joint exemption. WI is a slightly higher rate, with a $20k exemption. The ultimate tax rate is a few thousand dollars for state income tax in the new state. The rest of the tax savings come from lower property taxes, lower utility taxes, and lower sales taxes, and the overall nickel and diming Illinois does to its citizens. For… Read more »
“For those pensioners on a fixed income, these little things add up to big savings.”
I thought these we were talking about rich fat cat pensioners with a 6 figure pension married to the same.
‘Pensioner’ is a catch all phrase for private pensions (far less lucrative than state pensions) and social security recipients. I should have used the phrase ‘fixed income excluding wealthy state pensioners’ instead.
You commented on a thread regarding public sector pensioners leaving the state. Therefore pensioners in this thread refer to public sector pensions. So you are admitting your earlier comment had no bearing on public sector pensioners leaving the state. My point stands. Well to do public pensioners are not leaving the state for those other 4 states because of tax advantages. Give up the mental gymnastics and just admit that you are wrong.
Source?
Again with that false, tired canard: “high property taxes don’t matter when weighed against lower income tax rates”.
You never do the math.
People do not typically earn the full fair market value of a home every year.
Property tax rate differentials between 2%-3% higher in Illinois than everywhere else should not be equated with 3% state income tax rates which are applied to total amounts which according to latest median household income data are less than a quarter of median home values.
Public pension retirees don’t leave the state. They are probably staying and double-dipping. An Illinois tradition.
Pensions, 1099R income, are not currently subject to further taxation in Illinois. So if I directly deposit pension checks into an Illinois bank, I can electronically transfer that money almost anywhere or just pay bills electronically and use only credit cards. This is already being done by many retirees.
This is state tax evasion if the retiree lives outside of Illinois. But they still have to declare the 1099-R on their federal taxes so it’s pretty easy to prove.
the gov of my state IL has always looked down on small bussines he has taxed us out to the end every chance he can get he wont even stay in the tax payer funded state captial in springfield IL he rather stay in chicago he enfoces his will to the IL peeple to stay at home during this (SO CALLED VIRUS) and shuts down resturants and places that should be open but yet him and his wife and kid(s) can leave the state go down to his million dollar+ ranch in florida or go to a resturant in wisconsin… Read more »
Off topic a bit but I just made a contribution to your site. I felt it was improper to read and comment with out some financial support. You’re one of the few realists looking at the problems of Illinois government. Many thanks, Merry Christmas.
Thank you. So much to do. We will put it to work.
He is not a serious man. He is an opportunist. His whole life he wanted to be in elected office. He lost big time when he ran in a Congressional race. Waited for the right moment in IL to run for governor after not being able to work Blago to be appointed Senator. He bought the governorship. Machine Dems went right behind to get the money.
He has proven to be a horrible manager. Identity politics permeate every word, every policy. He doesn’t care about the common citizen. He cares about power, being loved, and feeding a tremendously large ego.
I think this is instructive: From 2010 to 2020, 250,000 people left Illinois. In 2019-20, 80k left Illinois. That’s 32% of the grand total in one year while JB was governor.
They may be leaving but folks are still moving in. Lived in Chicago for the first 51 yrs of my life and got out 20 yrs ago. Now about 100 miles away in a small rural community. Homes go up for sale and usually gone in a month. 3 new neighbors by me on 1+ acre lots where deer and turkeys are frequent visitors. One from Ohio, one from Wisconsin and one from Minnesota. I dont know how the incoming and outgoing numbers are counted but life is good where I’m at. As a extra a near by town is… Read more »
You silly rabbit. Liberals just simply don’t believe in personal accountability. It’s always some other dudes fault. Or its a collective thing where no one person is responsible. If fatboy had grown up actually having to earn his wealth instead of inheriting it, he would know this.
Rauner was just a figurehead in a demoncrap controlled state. How many items of Rauner’s agenda were tabled by Madigan and never saw the light of day. Term limits, proposed budget reforms stuffed in a drawer somewhere and forgotten about. No Republican governor has had any power in this state for decades. All they were doing is keeping the seat warm for the next demoncrap.
Madigan said they were gonna wait him out. And they did. And in 2018, about 800,000 new Democrat voters magically appeared out of nowhere and almost every single one of them voted for JB. About 800,000 new voters showed up in 2018 that totally missed the 2014 election and they nearly all voted for JB. Rauner, even with his faults, only lost about 100,000 votes from 2014 to 2018. But JB had hundreds of thousands of new D voters more than Quinn in 2014. Half of those new voters showed up just in Cook County. In an era were Cook… Read more »
Edgar had enough power to devise a pension payment plan that delayed significant contributions until well after he was out of office.
The “Edgar ramp” and to think hardly anyone remembers how he sold the State down the river with his ramp plan.
Shhhh. You are not supposed to mention that Republican Gov. Jim Edgar made the pension issues worse. It’s also not popular to mention that Republican Gov. Jim Thompson started the 3% compounded increases. Please remember though that it’s Madigan and the Democrats that caused all our problems. Republicans were just innocent bystanders.
Thompson was governor of IL from 1977 to 1991; Edgar was governor from 1991 to 1999. That was over 20 years ago. While surely both of these Republican shoulder some of the blame – those decision were also made nearly two generations ago. I was a baby in crib during Thompson’s tenure as governor. But during the entirety of that time – except for two years in the 90’s, Mike Madigan was in control of the Democrat controlled legislature. So Democrats have had, at a minimum, 1999 – 2020 to do something, and the best they could do was the… Read more »
So Republicans in 1990 increased the payout by including 3% compounding and then followed it up with the Edgar ramp. Those two problems that started 26-30 years ago are a big part of the situation we are in today. Let’s also not forget the constitutional amendment that was sponsored by Republicans 50 years ago. Democrats created tier 2 pensions reducing what they could legally in 2010. So to be clear…Republicans have been in the Governor’s mansion when benefits were drastically increased and they also punted on paying their bills. Democrats saved some money with tier 2 but it’s not enough… Read more »
No one said Republicans aren’t accountable. Of course they are. But the vast majority of the problems are Democrat created. Madigan has been speaker of the house all but two years OF MY ENTIRE LIFE. The Edgar Ramp, and the “blame Thompson” are partisan Democrat talking points, crafted in a dark, dank restraurant in Springfield. These talking points deflect blame away from the majority party that’s controlled government for 40+ years. I know you know better than this. And most importantly, the Democrat party in power today has ZERO political will to solve the pension problem of the past. They’re… Read more »
To be fair they were extorted with crippling strikes. They caved. In hindsight they should have fought like hell.
The public sector unions know very clearly where their bread is buttered, and it is not with Republicans. Over 90% of public union political donations go to Democratic candidates, and that has been true since the 1970’s. You may try to blame Republicans, but it is the Democrats who have been bought and paid for by public unions. Public unions are among the largest Democratic donors in this state.
So Republicans don’t receive any support from public sector employees but in return Republicans guaranteed (1970 CA) that their pensions can’t be reduced, added 3% annual compounded increases (R. Gov. Thompson) , and paid pensions on the Edgar ramp to deceive the public about their total cost so that more money is available to pay wages to public sector employees.. So Republicans aren’t in bed with public sector unions they are just stupid? So Illinois Democrats are corrupt and Illinois Republicans are incompetent. Got it.
We get it, both parties are responsible for this mess. But it’s been a long time since Republicans contributed to this mess. The Democrats legislatively controlling the state for 38 years have known about this, allowed it happen on their watch, and have done little to fix it, and actively contributed to the mess by permitting all those crazy loopholes. This is more or less, my entire life. I’m sick of hearing “But R’s did it too” when I’ve seen only D’s pass the buck for decades. All that matters is today: What is the party in power doing today?… Read more »
So the public sector unions are so stupid that they have given 90% of their donations for the past 40 years to defeat their true benefactors, the Republicans? Got it.
Actually it makes public sector unions smart. Why pay for something when the other party will do it for nothing? That’s called s wise investment on their part.
Both parties are responsible for the mess. Democrats require payment to gain favor while Republicans give it away for free. In the end both are their true benefactors.
An old saying comes to mind (although it was used in a different context) – “Why buy the cow if you can get the milk for free?”
Pritzkers a lying hack,quick to point fingers and blame others for his own failures as a leader,takes no responsibilty for the problems of this state…oh wait,that describes most of illinois politicians!!
In a master stroke of obfuscation, Madigan and his gang (including rinos) strangled Rauner and hoist him by his own petard!! They DID NOT LIKE Rauner’s plan to start cleaning the Illinois swamp, so they paralyzed the state budget, then turned that paralysis into a Dem campaign issue, blaming him for stalled budget that cost Ill big bucks (per the Gangster D’s). Chicago politics.
Our Governor is now officially a bad joke on us the American people.
Some time very soon (today I hope) President Trump will cross the Rubicon and as a result be reelected in January 2021.
In doing so, I remain hopeful that the Government Workers Party, particularly Governors who have trampled all over our rights, are taken down (or off to Gitmo).
Merry Christmas everyone.
MAGA
Remember, this fat pig wants a “willing partner” to cut the budget
Maybe our Governor will join me in the celebration of President Trump’s reelection he has called for on Twitter on January 6th 2020 in DC!
MAGA
As bad as Pritzker’s lies are, this is more disturbing:
‘Pritzker is enabled by a press corps that’s often as unserious as he is. As usual, no follow-up questions were attempted or allowed on Wednesday, a routine they sheepishly accept.’
That is how a tyrant wants it – a compliant ‘press’ that is more about partisan propaganda.
Excellent commentary WP! Let the truth shine!
Absolutely true and now with many media outlets prohibiting comments at the end of so called informative blah we only see what the press corps wants us to see.
Pritzker is a catastrophe. He has failed in his effort to suppress the virus; the IDES’s handling of unemployment claims is a debacle; he has completely undermined the FOI application process; his EO’s are larded with inconsistencies and exemptions for progressive-favored activities. Most stunningly, he appears to actually believe the risibly absurd things that he says. It was never easy to see how Illinois could pull itself out of the financial chasm it has dug for itself; but, with the election of this Brobdingnagian buffoon, the die has been cast.
But he’s keeping us safe says his 55% of voters, including the deceased ones who voted 2x.
let’s be honest, knowing what we know today, there’s no way the D party was ever going to let Rauner ever win again. JB had the ballot box stuffed, which is how he came up with 800,000 more votes than Quinn.
Guv FatBoy may well be the biggest blunder Illinois voters ever made. As a former longtime resident, i feel a Little guilty about it, but it’s So much fun to watch your state and biggest city imploding.
It’s so true that Hinz is a hack. The very essence of his column are so partisan its pathetic.
It’s obvious the stupid fat slob is losing it. He is clearly mentally unstable and has lost all touch with reality. He needs to be institutionalized
The comments from the Gov signify an unwillingness to acknowledge a problem exists. If the problem was this simple wouldn’t the US population decrease each year since post 08. Half the country thinks Obama ruined the country and the other half now think Trump did. What will be interesting to see is the consequences of the income tax lawsuit for WFH between Massachusetts and New Hampshire and now New Jersey going after New York, Iowa with Illinois etc. If the suit is successful, how many more people are leaving to Indiana or border states as they can work remotely and… Read more »
Don’t worry. As population declines more drastically in next couple years he will look even more foolish blaming Rauner.
That’s the reason he has estates in more fiscally responsible states like Wisconsin and Florida. He can pick up and move, as most state retirees do. The irony of them moving after retirement because state taxes are too high.
You don’t understand. Most of the wealth is housed offshore in Bermuda or Caymans, or in places like South Dakota. Check their tax codes. When you are bulletproof wealthy, it doesn’t matter where you live. You can pay the best people to figure it out. He will never “leave” Chicago. His money left Chicago and the state years ago.
“He will never “leave” Chicago.”
I’m not a betting man but I’d take that bet. Nearly Everyone with means eventually leaves Illinois.
rauner was a milktoast who took his instructions from his leftist wife. and pritzker is a puppet who takes his orders from madigan. It’s all a puppet show.
The lies he spews are larger than he is. He is an obese person. He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and since then he learned well how to feed himself and forget the others in Illinois. He doesn’t spend time her –Wisconsin or Florida or some place other than Illinois.
Excuse me for correcting your post. He was born with a silver ladle in his mouth.
Fat and stupid is no way to go through life, but given JB’s response it is apparent that is what he is doing. Who will he blame next year? The negative trend will only accelerate, as there are many reasons to leave Illinois and very few to move there. News flash JB, you are the skipper on a sinking ship.
In a year with so many “wins” for Democrats, Illinois had its largest population drop. That’s all on the JB Crew. If you were suffering from Rauner fatigue, you would’ve moved out over a year ago. And if you stuck around for the JB victory parade and a historic Democratic supermajority, why would you leave now?
Want to know the real reason? Chart a graph with % of budget consumed by pension payments on one axis and % population gain/loss on the other. That’ll tell you all you need to know.
I admittedly expected exceedingly little from Pirtzker when he was coming into office given he’d done nothing of any measurable substance with his life, but despite these low expectations, I’ve been absolutely shocked at his total lack of leadership. It’s painful to watch. Every dial, I mean, every single dial of leadership qualities is set to zero. Humble. Introspective. Self-aware. Gracious. Empathetic. Leads by example. Etc. Pritzker is a 0/10 on all these and more. Not a 1 or 2…a big fat donut (pun intended). You almost have to try to be this awful. And we’re supposed to be surprised… Read more »
Agree. So all those lack of qualities would make JB a perfect Democratic candidate for president in 2024. It’s everyone else’s fault but his.
Let’s get back to Michael Madigan. If the Speaker of the House were to retire, and all of his minions were to disappear, would that save the State of Illinois? No, not right away. But it would be a hell of a start. Those that were now leading the State after Madigan was gone (oh, let’s say Republicans) could now fully face the pension issue. After considerable wrangling to get that under control, fair taxation could finally be addressed. The State at this point is finally seeing green grass again. Citizens are starting to feel pride and are becoming involved… Read more »