Chicago is nation's most corrupt big city, Illinois is third most corrupt state, report finds

[damba]

Originally Posted by TheEnigmaMachine

While I agree with you that it seems as though self preservation is an instinct some people clearly lack, you can’t place too much blame on King Diabetes at the helm. The guy pretty much has no recourse at this point. He needs money, and fast, and in as large of quantities as possible on an ongoing basis. Rich people do not have the kind of numbers needled to supply this. You need a source of revenue that will effect as many people as possible for as long as possible and in as large of quantities as possible. When looked upon from this context, the gas tax is brilliant. It’s not enough of course, but it starves off disaster for a while longer until he can think up something else.

I don’t think many people really appreciate the gravity of the situation Illinois is in. The people in Michigan didn’t either until it was too late. Union leaders in Detroit held fast until the bitter end. Ours probably will too.
I am of the opinion that there is simply no way to make the Math work for Illinois anymore. Officials might as well be corrupt now, because what difference does it make at this point?

You see any political official in the state with a comprehensive plan to bring about solvency? That’s because it does not exist.

You continue to be naive.

Detroit was not diversified like Chicago is.

[TheEnigmaMachine]

Having a robust and diverse tax base is helpful only if it results in a surplus of revenue. That is not the case in Illinois. We can’t pay our bills, which has resulted in a domino effect of endlessly borrowing from one entity to pay another in a death spiral with ever increasing consequences in the form of compounding interest.

When people refer to Illinois as a Ponzi scheme, this is what they mean because that is essentially what it is, just on a grandiose scale.

A legal mechanism for bankruptcy is really the only way out. They are well past the point of being able to tax their way out of their predicament

[KerrTown]

Originally Posted by edsg25

Let’s make it a trifecta: the US is the world’s most corrupt nation.

Trump did remove his toilets in his NYC penthouse, not to dodge property taxes--but because he needed to melt the gold for cash in his empty checking account.

Looks like Illinois was bumped down from #2 to #3! (Who's the new #2 winner?) I wouldn't consider moving to New Jersey for a job, because I would not want to live in a place more corrupt than Illinois. Chicago is attractive; Newark, Trenton, and Camden are across the river from NYC and Philly, but not attractive since they are near but not NYC or Philly! I would live in NYS or PA instead of commuting across the river.

But if oil switches from being priced in dollars to Euros and China decides to dump--exchange--some dollars (for Euros) "to buy oil", the dollar is trash! Have the Great Lakes and NE states considered joining Canada yet?