Examine a map of the Midwest. Color in all the states with a lower unemployment rate than Illinois. Color in all the states with greater job growth, more business expansion, a brighter budget picture, a more stable public pension situation, fewer social services in jeopardy.
What will the map look like? Other Midwestern states will emerge in brighter colors, while Illinois will stand alone, shaded in darker tones of danger and despair. Virtually every economic and social indicator registers more favorably than in Illinois.
Look around us. Social-service agencies cannot serve our neediest fellow citizens. Our schools are literally scraping to get by. Why would any business decide to relocate to Illinois?
We know what has to be done, but? no one will step forward. We face a potentially disastrous game of chicken. We must raise taxes, cut spending, and restructure government, but who will risk the first step?
The governor just made a budget proposal to the legislature, and the headline read Rauner proposes taxes; Democrats jeer.
Now Rauner's proposal may have been terrible; maybe it deserved rejection. But wouldn't a better headline have read Democrats resolve to cooperate to end impasse?
We will never resolve this crisis without genuine bipartisanship.
I'm Bob Evans, and that is my perspective.
