Illinois 2nd Worst Run State in America

[Taco1234]

Originally Posted by CGab

Tonight Fox news Chicago had an editorial on the fiscal state of Illinois, with no budget. The numbers are real. Illinois worst in the U.S. for property taxes, lost over 100k residents from July 2015-July 2016. Over $11 billion unpaid bills, etc. Anyone who disagrees is just in denial. Click on the link and watch.


Editorial and Opinion | WFLD

They won't because they don't want to believe it!

[My Kind Of Town]

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No doubt Illinois has its issues. Clearly, the pension issue is a big problem that needs resolution sooner rather than later but there are certain posters that only want to focus on the negatives (hence the numerous threads similar to this one). It is only natural for Illinois residents that actually enjoy their current situation to feel inclined to defend the state and focus on the good aspects that are buried under all the negativity (both here and in the media). Also, those defending Illinois typically still live here and as a result have a vested interest in the happenings of the state. Why would someone living outside the state still have such an interest in the state? And for those that are still living in Illinois but unhappy with the current situation, why not take real action rather than post anonymously to an internet message board? Write to your local and state representatives if you have a problem with legislative decisions being made. I know I have and if more people did we might actually get their attention and see something change...

[Taco1234]

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I still live here... for me it's just interesting to read responses and see how people think. I truly hope IL gets it's stuff together bc we obviously have some friends and family staying here for the long haul. However, interesting to me is how their perceptions of us leaving have changed. When we first started throwing the idea around a few years ago we were greeted with horror. "What, why and how"... over the past year we've seen such a shift in responses: take me with, I don't blame you, etc...

I understand there's 2 sides to every story and ultimately if a person is happy and stable, then so be it. My anger is that I had nothing to do with the start of this financial catastrophe and I feel it's unfair to people like us who didn't contribute yet are paying more and more to pay back these debts. Whether your income is 50k, 200k or more... you're still paying more each year. Initially we felt undecided because of all the work it would entail. Now we're excited for many more reasons than financial. I wish only good things for Illinois and it's inhabitants (except those who took part in this financial mess, I wish bad things to them ).

[Chicago South Sider]

The worst part of the situation here is that there's no solution in sight to these massive problems. It's disturbing to live in a state that's literally the bottom of the barrel in terms of population growth, fiscal responsibility and political leadership. That seems to be ok with some folks because the number of 100-200k households may slowly be increasing.

[toosie]

Multiple off topic posts have been deleted. Please remember that posters are welcome to take an interest in local matters even if they aren't from that particular area. Seeking clarification regarding a posters location is fine; discouraging them from participating in the thread is not.

[chicagogeorge]

Yet people keep voting for Michael Madigan....

[Lainer]

I haven't posted here in a long time but wanted to get in on this topic. My husband and I are becoming more convinced, almost by the day, that Illinois is basically a "failed" state and it might be better for all of us if we moved. The catch is that I am 53 years old and have worked for the state for 10 years, so packing up and leaving now would mean, at least on paper, throwing away good pay and benefits and retirement security at an age when it would probably be very difficult if not impossible for me to find a comparable job. The "sensible" thing to do would be to hang on another 10-12 years, until Medicare kicks in, or another 14 years for full Social Security benefits. Then again, everyone keeps saying the state is broke and there's no way those benefits can possibly ever be paid in full, and besides what right do I have to get lavish benefits no one else has at taxpayer expense, so maybe I should bail anyway and save the taxpayers some money!

Compounding our concern is the fact that we have an autistic daughter who just turned 21 and is about to age out of the school system; some local and state agencies are working on finding her a job she can do after she leaves school, that will provide her with some money of her own and some independence. The trouble is, in IL services for people like her are ALWAYS the first to get cut every time there's a budget crisis, and we never know from one year to the next what will be available. Lots of private/non-profit agencies that serve the disabled are closing down and unable to hire people because they have lost so much funding. There might be fewer services available in other states but if they are stable and consistently funded, isn't that better than having all sorts of great services promised on paper but never available because there's no money to pay for them?

As I explained in a post I made several years ago, moving to someplace way distant like Florida, Texas or Arizona really is not feasible for us due to the expense and effort involved in traveling back and forth to look for work or a place to live. But if we could significantly improve our lives, and that of our daughter, simply by going across the border to one of the neighboring states within a 2-3 hour drive (IN, IA, MO, KY, WI), we'd seriously consider it. It would be easier to scope out jobs and a place to live, plus, there would be less "culture shock" as compared to downstate IL. So I want to know if anyone on this forum has done that, and what effect it had.