When the progressive political class preaches equality and prosperity, but bleeds productive citizens dry by treating them as little more than human ATMs, there should be little surprise when those same citizens take themselves (and their green) to greener pastures. Perhaps no state in the nation is seeing a bigger such exodus than Illinois. …On the flip side, all of the states surrounding Illinois saw their populations increase… Illinois is experiencing a self-inflicted storm of fiscal distress. …While state income taxes in Illinois don't reach the level imposed in states such as New York and California, that's not for a lack of trying. The state raised its rate by 32 percent over the summer, and Democrats want to even more progressive tax rates to pay for all the goodies they've promised to Big Labor in order to grease their re-elections. …Illinois is a financial basket case—which is what you get when you combine political patronage with powerful public-sector unions that control leftist politicians. The state should be a case study for other jurisdictions on how not to conduct public policy. After all, who will pay the bills when the taxpayers flee?
Illinois is the dependency capital of the Midwest. No other state in the region has more of its population dependent on food stamps… So what's driving the state's dependency crisis? State bureaucrats using loopholes and gimmicks to keep more people dependent on welfare. According to the Illinois Department of Human Services, nearly 175,000 able-bodied childless adults are on the program. These are adults in their prime working years—between the ages of 18 and 49—with no dependent children and no disabilities keeping them from meaningful employment. …the state has relied upon loopholes and gimmicks to trap more and more able-bodied adults in dependency. Federal law allows states to seek temporary waivers of the work requirement in areas with unemployment rates above 10 percent or with a demonstrated lack of job opportunities in the region. …the Illinois Department of Human Services…used old data and it gerrymandered the request in whatever way was necessary to keep more able-bodied adults on welfare. …State bureaucrats have gamed the system and as a result, thousands of able-bodied adults will remain trapped in dependency, with little hope of better lives.
…this is a state government that has been broken for decades. It is designed to reject improvement in every form, at every level. …The Thompson Center…is a near-perfect representation of state government. It is gross, rundown, and nobody cares. …there is a disturbing sense of entitlement among some state employees. …Underperformers aren't fired; they're simply transferred to different positions, shuffled elsewhere on the payroll or tucked away at state agencies. …this is a state government that is ranked last by almost every objective and measurable standard. A state government that fails every single one of its residents, day after day—and has failed its residents for decades. A state government that demands more and more money each year, to deliver increasingly less value.