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ILLINOIS GENERAL ASSEMBLY, 2017 IN
REVIEW: STATE PET, STATE GRAIN, BUT NO FIXES
Illinois Policy Institute/
Mindy Ruckman
Illinois lawmakers passed hundreds of bills
in 2017, but enacted no real reforms to boost the state’s economy, rein
in the cost of government or provide relief to taxpayers.
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 2017 was not a banner year for
Illinois taxpayers.
During the five months the Illinois General Assembly was in regular session,
state lawmakers passed 615 new bills.
What did taxpayers get from these bills? Reforms to boost Illinois’ economy,
which is lagging behind the rest of the nation? Solutions to fix the state’s
$250 billion pension crisis?
Nope. State lawmakers chose to spend time passing bills designating corn as the
state grain, shelter cats and dogs as the state pet, milkweed as the state
wildflower, and cycling as the state exercise.
They also used their time to debate whether the state should mandate that
schools teach cursive writing, and whether restaurants should label a menu item
as catfish if the item doesn’t actually contain catfish.
There may be nothing wrong with the content of these laws; however, the General
Assembly should have devoted its time and energy to passing desperately needed
reforms that would put Illinois on a path toward prosperity.
 Debating and passing legislation on comparatively minor matters wastes time and
taxpayer dollars.
Unfortunately, relatively inconsequential bills weren’t the only legislation
that passed this year. The General Assembly also handed Illinois taxpayers the
most expensive budget in Illinois’ history. The budget relied on a massive
income tax hike to fund it, yet is still unbalanced.
The permanent income tax hike that passed in July will cost taxpayers an
additional $5 billion annually. This means each Illinois household will have to
pay an additional $1,125 in taxes each year, on top of what that household
already pays.
On top of the income tax hike, lawmakers also passed a new school funding
formula that bails out the financial mismanagement of Chicago Public Schools and
will cost state taxpayers billions of dollars more over the years.
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Instead of tax hikes and more spending, Illinois needs change. When
lawmakers fail to enact needed reform, they hurt taxpayers.
But 2018 is a new year –
Illinois’ bicentennial year, in fact.
When lawmakers return to Springfield in January, here’s what they
need to address:
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Illinois’ high tax
burden – Illinois’ property taxes and state and local tax burden
are among the highest in the nation. These taxes are making
Illinois an unattractive place to live and work. In fact, the
Land of Lincoln sees a net loss of one person every five minutes
to another state.
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Illinois’ growing
cost of government – Illinois taxpayers’ incomes remain
stagnant, but the cost of their government continues to grow.
Bad policies, such as Illinois’ unfair government union
bargaining laws, stack the deck against taxpayers and raise the
cost of state and local government.
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Illinois’ toxic
business climate – Until state lawmakers are willing to tackle
reforms that make Illinois a place where businesses want to
invest, job-seekers will continue to struggle. In 2017, nearly
97,000 Illinoisans dropped out of the workforce, meaning many
have given up on finding a job. The state’s economy has been
lagging the rest of the nation for 50 years, and people are
suffering – or leaving altogether.
2017 was a year of the
“same ol’ same ol’” in Illinois – tax hikes, overspending and
following the political status quo. Illinois is in the midst of a
fiscal crisis, and it’s time lawmakers become serious about
implementing meaningful reforms. Otherwise, the state will continue
to spiral deeper into its fiscal mess.
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