Building backhoes to fill Illinois’ deficit hole

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner’s recent visit to Southwestern Illinois included some signs of hope as well as enough reality to remind everyone how far we still have to go.

Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan’s iron grip on power is starting to weaken. Enough lawmakers broke ranks to get our schools funded and other state services on track for six months. There are signs that lawmakers may continue cooperating when they reconvene after the November election.

But don’t expect a big revolution on Nov. 8. There are too few challengers willing to take on Madigan’s minions.

“Here this November in the election, in two-thirds of the state races, there’s no opponent — there’s one person running. We have a rigged system. There’s no competition, there’s no choice for voters,” Rauner said. “Democracy doesn’t work on that basis.”

So how do you get competition to keep incumbents on their toes or toss out the rascals?

The Independent Map Amendment will be on the November ballot unless Madigan’s lawyers are able to kill it. They are in court trying to deny voters a chance to establish an independent panel that draws state legislative districts and ends the gerrymandering that puts the interests of East St. Louis, Smithton and Shiloh voters in one representative’s hands, but Belleville’s in another.

Term limits would help, but past efforts by Illinoisans were thwarted. Madigan’s lawyers won and now lawmakers get to decide whether they should impose term limits on themselves. What are the chances?

Election reform boosts the ability to effect change, but here’s a reminder from Rauner of why change is needed: “We have fewer jobs than we had 17 years ago. We have lower family incomes than we had 17 years ago. We now have the highest property taxes in America, and the most debt — unfunded pensions and bonds — of any state in America. We are in a bad condition, and this has gone on for 30 years.”

It took 30 years to dig this hole. Does anyone think we have 30 years to climb out? After taking a 17-year step backward in income and paying the highest property taxes in the nation, does anyone have enough extra to let Madigan tax his way to even higher spending?

Grow Illinois’ economy by reforming the business, taxation, pension and political climates. If it doesn’t cost Caterpillar five times more for workers’ comp in Illinois than in other states, they will make more heavy equipment here and that is how you fill a deficit hole.

This story was originally published July 12, 2016 at 7:00 PM with the headline "Building backhoes to fill Illinois’ deficit hole."