Good day all. If you want to see what the results of decades of corrupt Democrat rule will do to a state, look no further than Illinois. The state is basically bankrupt and has been for years. Now the bills are coming due.
It’s gotten so bad in Illinois that the lottery may have to stop operating. They can’t pay out to any winners. Here are some of the details from Fox News:
Illinois is grappling with a full-fledged financial crisis and not even the lottery is safe – with Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner warning the state is entering “banana republic” territory.
Oh they long ago entered Banana Republic, but they couldn’t afford to stay so now they’ve moved into Greece.
Facing billions in unpaid bills and pension obligations, the state is hitting a cash crunch that is rare even by Illinois standards.
Just how bad has it gotten?
A top financial official just warned 100 percent of the state’s monthly revenue will be eaten up by court-ordered payments. Rauner is calling a special session of the Democrat-led General Assembly in a bid to pass what he hopes will be the first full budget package in almost three years.
Apparently, these court ordered payments have something to do with Medicaid. According to Business Insider:
Cash-strapped Illinois, with the worst state credit rating in U.S. history, faces more potential financial pressures next week when a federal judge rules whether the government must accelerate $300 million in monthly Medicaid-related payments.
Being forced to make those payments sooner could weaken the state’s ability to meet its obligations to pay investors who have bought its debt both before and during political gridlock that has left it without a proper budget for the past two fiscal years.
Gotta love the Progressive Liberal Democrats. It’s cute how mathematically challenged they are. They’re expecting the new crop of money trees to ripen any time now.
Since it doesn’t have a budget, Illinois operates in part under a system of state and federal court-ordered consent decrees that take spending discretion away from the state. This raises concerns that debt service on the state’s bonds may get squeezed by additional court-ordered payments.
And I think we may just soon see the point where the legislative and administrative branches tell the courts to shove their decrees where the sun doesn’t shine. Can we say “Constitutional Crisis?” Sure we can! Meanwhile, what is going on with the Lottery?
Illinois will – literally – lose the lottery if the budget fails.
The state lotto requires a payment from the legislature each year. The current appropriation expires June 30, meaning no authority to pay prizes. In anticipation of a budget deadlock, the state already is planning to halt Powerball and Mega Millions sales.
“It is disappointing that the legislature’s inability to pass a budget has led to this development and will result in Illinois lottery players being denied the opportunity to play these popular games,” Illinois Lottery Acting Director Greg Smith told Fox News.
Oh that will go over well with the residents of Illinois. Of course, this mess didn’t happen overnight. It took decades of out of control spending, taxing and regulations to drive the state right into the financial toilet.
The problems are years in the making, caused in large in part by the state’s poorly funded pension system— which led Moody’s Investors Services to downgrade the credit rating to the lowest of any state. The state currently has $130 billion in unfunded pension obligations, and a backlog of unpaid bills worth $13 billion.
Which means, to the average person, Illinois is broke. Busted. Bankrupt. The credit cards are maxed out. Vendors aren’t getting paid and now are beginning to fail. Others are ending their contracts with the state since they have no interest in working for free.
Reports have suggested the state could be the first to attempt to declare Chapter 9 bankruptcy — but under the law, that’s impossible unless Congress gets involved.
Fat chance of that happening.
“Nobody here in Illinois is considering bankruptcy—first of all, it’s not allowed,” said Steve Brown, press secretary for Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. “Second of all, it would damage the reputation of the state and it’s just not necessary.”
The reputation of the state? Oh that’s a good one! A real knee slapper that is.
“Illinois is the fiscal model of what not to do,” Rep. Peter Roskam, R-Ill., told Fox News, while not commenting on the bankruptcy question. “This avoidance in behavior toward dealing with our challenges is what leads to the devastating impacts we are seeing today.”
The story continues with both sides, the Republicans and the Democrats, with most of the problems coming from the Democrats, refusing to face reality. The Democrat leadership in the legislature is demanding more and more concessions from the governor, which, to be honest, are a load of crap. The Democrats just want to continue on with their usual tax, spend and regulate to death policies that have wrecked the Illinois tax base.
This is the part of the story that doesn’t get reported to often. Just how many people and companies that used to live, work and have headquarters in Illinois are pulling out and taking their money with them. So, what is the solution? One writer, writing for the Chicago Tribune came up with an idea. Dissolve Illinois and let the neighboring states take chunks of it. Granted the column was written with John Kass’s tongue, firmly planted in his cheek, but Illinois is so badly mismanaged and so corrupt that stripping it of it’s statehood and making it a territory, with a governor appointed by Donald Trump, might be the only way to fix things.
Thatisall
~The Angry Webmaster~
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Well, isn’t that a surprise.