In the political gridlock that’s seized Illinois government, much of the attention has centered on the fight between Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and the Democratic leaders in the General Assembly.
But a new analysis says someone else should share the blame: voters. The people of Illinois are giving politicians contradictory instructions -- namely, keep taxes low but state services high.
John Jackson, with the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University, says state government has long failed to collect enough tax money to pay for schools, prisons and other services.
Jackson looked at eight years of polling data. He says part of the problem is that politicians have long failed to confront voters with the difficult choice between higher taxes and steep cuts in state services.
"It’s not like you can absolve the people, though,” Jackson said. “There’s plenty of information out there, and sometimes the media do a very good job of pointing out that there are going to be real problems."
Jackson says most voters think the state’s budget problems can be solved by cutting waste and fraud — when in reality there’s no way that could make up for Illinois' multi-billion dollar structural deficit.
He says a solid majority of voters think Illinois' money problems can be solved by simply eliminating waste and fraud.
“Anybody that knows anything about state government knows that that’s not even remotely feasible to find that much money,” Jackson said, “but people firmly believe that."
Jackson says the current gridlock is what happens when voters show a "lack of interest in the details of public policy" — especially about state budgets.
