It's never fun to get a warning – from law enforcement, a doctor or a creditor. But it's never wise to ignored warnings from the experts, either. Illinois was warned this week by a key credit rating agency – Moody's. It remains to be seen how Governor Pritzker and the Illinois General Assembly responds.
Will they heed the warning, or foolishly blow it off again?
The brainy guys at Wirepoints.com explain that for the first time, Moody's actually points to the consistent, growing number of people moving out of Illinois as part of why they place Illinois bonds just above junk level:
The ratings agency paints a grim picture, especially considering Illinois taxpayers have seen state pension debts grow by $80 billion over the decade despite a quadrupling in the amount of money they’re putting in.
Illinois’ high tax rates, increasing out-migration, enormous debts and a near-junk credit rating should force Pritzker to pursue a constitutional amendment for pensions. A reduction in retirement debts – for both pensions and retiree health insurance – is Illinois’ only true option. But all indications show the governor is loathe to pursue an amendment.
Wirepoints.com doesn't put much hope into the controlling Democrats heeding Moody's warning:
Instead, look for Pritzker to ignore Illinois’ conundrum and the flight of Illinoisans to continue.
Read the rest at Wirepoints.com.
Governor “of the lower and middle class needs to take immediate action on This
Our only way out is too create a new Illinois, one without Chicago. Until we downstaters get rid of Chicago we will be oppressed and burdened with their communist stupidity
HR0101 was recently submitted, it is a resolution, the first step in making Chicago the 51st state. Freeing the rest of the state from their oppression.
Here is the text:
HR0101 LRB101 10673 MST 55782 r
1
HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The State of Illinois is often regarded as having
3 two distinct regions, the City of Chicago and downstate
4 Illinois; and
5 WHEREAS, Even communities north of Chicago are considered
6 “downstate” because they have more in common with rural
7 southern and central Illinois counties than they do with the
8 City of Chicago; and
9 WHEREAS, The divide between the City of Chicago and
10 downstate Illinois is frequently manifested in electoral
11 results such as the 2010 gubernatorial election in which the
12 Democrat candidate won the election despite only carrying four
13 counties out of 102 counties, and, in fact, did not need to
14 carry any other counties to win because of the margin of
15 victory in Chicago and Cook County; and
16 WHEREAS, The City of Chicago is frequently treated as a
17 separate region of the State and has often been exempted from
18 major legislative initiatives the General Assembly enacts in
19 law because of this fact; and
20 WHEREAS, The City of Chicago is often bailed out by
21 taxpayers in the rest of the State, such as the $221 million
HR0101 – 2 – LRB101 10673 MST 55782 r
1 bailout for the CPS pension system that was signed into law
2 last year; and
3 WHEREAS, Numerous counties in the southern and central
4 parts of Illinois are approving resolutions to become sanctuary
5 counties for gun owners, while the City of Chicago has some of
6 the strictest gun laws in the country; and
7 WHEREAS, The majority of residents in downstate Illinois
8 disagree with City of Chicago residents on key issues such as
9 gun ownership, abortion, immigration, and other policy issues;
10 and
11 WHEREAS, The dissension between downstate Illinois and the
12 City of Chicago spans the nearly 200-year history of the State,
13 and there have been several attempts in the past to divide
14 Illinois into two states; and
15 WHEREAS, The City of Chicago passed a resolution in 1925 to
16 form the State of Chicago; and
17 WHEREAS, Western Illinoisans declared their region as the
18 “Republic of Forgottonia”; and
19 WHEREAS, In 1981, State Senator Howard Carroll passed a
20 Cook County state split bill through both chambers of the State
HR0101 – 3 – LRB101 10673 MST 55782 r
1 Legislature; and
2 WHEREAS, There continue to be organizations pushing for
3 separation between the City of Chicago and downstate Illinois
4 such as the “Southern Illinois Secession Movement”; and
5 WHEREAS, Separation of states continues to be a focus in
6 the news media as there is a movement in California to divide
7 that state into multiple states; and
8 WHEREAS, Article IV, Section 3 of the Constitution of the
9 United States provides in part: “New States may be admitted by
10 Congress into this Union; but no new State shall be formed or
11 erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any
12 State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or Parts
13 of States, without the consent of the Legislatures of the
14 States concerned as well as of the Congress.”; therefore, be it
15 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
16 HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
17 we urge the United States Congress to take action to declare
18 the City of Chicago the 51st state of the United States of
19 America and separate it from the rest of Illinois; and be it
20 further
21 RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
HR0101 – 4 – LRB101 10673 MST 55782 r
1 delivered to all Illinois constitutional officers, the Speaker
2 and Minority Leader of the Illinois House of Representatives,
3 and the President and Minority Leader of the Illinois Senate.
Chicago likes to whine they contribute more tax dollars then downstate does …. this is their chance to rid we downstaters from using their tax dollars. They should jump on board with this proposal.
He will kick the can down the road
Well, what are the real repercussions? Moody’s will not rate Illinois bonds as junk, they simply continue with their empty threats to do so ad never follow up.