“JB Pritzker is acting presidential — too bad his state is in shambles”
JB Pritzker made headlines when he referred to as for “mass protests” in opposition to the Trump administration. There’s no query, the second-term governor of Illinois is positioning himself for a presidential run, as he crisscrosses the nation lauding his time serving the residents of the Prairie State.
“We enshrined reproductive rights into law. We legalized cannabis. We protected labor rights. We joined the US Climate Alliance,” he instructed a packed room in New Hampshire in late April. “I’m not going to go through the rest.”
However what he’s not telling the gang about Illinois is exactly what People must know most.
People are extra nervous at the moment in regards to the nation’s monetary issues than they’ve been in a decade. A latest Gallup poll discovered that 81% of People are personally involved a “great deal” or “fair amount” about federal spending and the federal deficit.
A federal authorities run just like the state of Illinois would do little to quell their fears. Right this moment, Illinois has greater than $200 billion in unfunded pension liabilities, with the state’s authorities pension programs hovering round 50% funded. (By comparability, even probably the most conservative estimates place New York state’s pension fund at 99% funded.) It’s dangerous information for pensioners, who dwell with the uncertainty of not figuring out if a retirement verify from the state may bounce. It’s even perhaps worse information for Illinois taxpayers, who’re on the hook for such monumental liabilities.
Already, Illinoisans are taxed to the hilt. WalletHub just lately named Illinois the state with the only highest state and native tax invoice within the nation. The median Illinois family pays $13,099 annually to an advanced net of presidency entities. I personally pay taxes to 17 completely different ranges of presidency, together with the state, three faculty districts, a mosquito abatement district, water reclamation district, park district, well being amenities, forest protect and extra. That’s along with gross sales taxes, fuel taxes, grocery taxes and different nickel-and-dime taxes I pay.
The place does all this cash go? For one, Illinois is well-known for its storied historical past of political favoritism and corruption, which makes authorities particularly costly to keep up. Simply this week, the Division of Justice introduced that Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is underneath investigation for racial based mostly hiring at Metropolis Corridor. “When you hire our people, we always look out for everybody else,” Johnson mentioned.
In terms of training, Illinois’ public faculty system is nothing to boast about. Greater than two-thirds of Illinois eighth graders aren’t proficient in studying or math, in accordance with outcomes from the latest Nationwide Evaluation of Schooling Progress. Worse, the general public faculty system in Illinois fails minority youngsters probably the most. Solely 16% of black eighth graders are proficient at studying, and solely 8% of black Illinois eighth graders do math at grade degree.
But on the similar time, Illinois spends extra per pupil on public training than each different state within the Midwest and 40 different states within the US. Fiscal watchdog Wirepoints reported that, in accordance with 2022 Census information, Illinois lays out $21,700 yearly in common native, state and federal {dollars} per public faculty scholar. How’s that for a sorry return on funding?
Pritzker is relying on his Illinois monitor report and fiery anti-Trump rhetoric to direct voters his means. Nevertheless it hasn’t been sufficient to maintain Illinoisans from leaving; the state tops the charts for out-migration.
The Illinois Policy Institute reports that Illinois ranks third within the nation for highest out-migration to different states. Illinois’ lack of 56,235 residents in 2024 is simply crushed by California, which misplaced 239,575 residents, and New York, which misplaced 120,917 residents. When Illinois’ inhabitants has grown lately, it’s due to an enormous inflow of worldwide migrants.
By comparability, the crimson states of Texas, North Carolina and South Carolina rank first, second and third for migration into their states, respectively. The Institute reported that on web 85,267 individuals flocked to Texas from July 2023 to June 2024, 82,288 residents moved to North Carolina, and greater than 68,000 individuals got here to South Carolina.
All of this begs the query of how Pritzker could possibly be elected to 2 phrases. That’s not a fancy puzzle. In addition to the truth that many residents are voting with their ft, a lot of the Democrat’s success is because of his get together’s stronghold in Chicago and the failings of the state’s Republican Social gathering.
Is Illinois the utopia Pritzker claims? No, removed from it. Slightly, as the typical resident would let you know, Pritzker is simply one other politician who’s too massive for his britches.
Diana Sroka Rickert, a author based mostly in Chicago, is a former vp on the Illinois Coverage Institute.
Have any questions or want help? Contact us here. For extra insights, go to our website.
Learn More…