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 Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s decades at the height
of political power may be coming to an end. A post-Madigan Illinois presents an
opportunity to undo decades of corruption and financial mismanagement that stem
from his rule.
No other person in Illinois, or any other state, has had as much influence over
both elections and official legislative power as Madigan during the past several
decades. That power binds him to the responsibility for unprecedented levels of
state debt, primarily by helping secure for politicians and public union workers
generous retirement benefits that have proved unaffordable for the private
sector workers and businesses who fund Illinois government. In return, union
leaders are one of Madigan’s chief special-interest allies and political
funders.
The results for Illinoisans have been disastrous.
Today, Illinois holds the nation’s lowest credit rating from all three major
ratings agencies – just one notch above non-investment grade junk status and the
lowest of any state in U.S. history. It ranks as at least the sixth-highest
taxed state, the second-most indebted and the second-most corrupt.
These three problems – high taxes and debt combined with low levels of public
trust resulting from corruption – have in turn resulted in consistently poor
economic performance and an exodus of Illinois residents not seen since World
War II.
Madigan’s fingerprints can be seen on virtually every major piece of legislation
that laid the foundation for Illinois’ credit rating fall. Credit ratings
represent an expert assessment of a state’s overall fiscal health and ability to
repay debt, and the lower the rating the higher the cost of borrowing to
taxpayers.
Before Madigan became speaker in 1983, Illinois held the highest possible credit
rating from both S&P Global Ratings and Moody’s Investors Service. Illinois’
poor credit now stands a notch above “junk” status, reflecting its immense debt,
second only to New Jersey’s – relative to the size of each state’s economy.
Retirement benefits for public workers account for more than 77% of the state’s
total debt burden. Looking at pension debt alone, Illinois’ pension crisis is
the worst in the nation measured by the state’s debt-to-revenue ratio.
Madigan owns that debt more than any other politician. While various governors
and other elected officials have played key roles, Madigan has been the sponsor
of major contributing legislation or the gatekeeper allowing bad bills to pass
at every step along the way.
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Combined pension debt of the five state retirement
systems has grown from $5.94 billion in 1982 to nearly $140 billion
at the end of fiscal year 2019. That’s a 753% increase after
adjusting for inflation.
Pension contributions accounted for
less than 4% of Illinois’ general funds budget from 1990 through
1997, but have grown to consume more than 25% of the budget in
recent years. Since the year 2000, pension costs have increased by
more than 500% after adjusting for inflation while spending on all
other services, including services for the poor and disadvantaged,
have fallen by nearly one-third.
Madigan created a Springfield culture of supporting unaffordable
benefit enhancements without reliable cost estimates and then
financing those benefits with debt rather than responsible funding
plans. The resulting pension crisis is the chief cause of Illinois’
high taxes, poor credit and inability to fund core government
services.
The recent federal probe into Commonwealth
Edison’s bribery scheme, in which it admitted to offering $1.3
million in patronage jobs and various other payments to the
speaker’s allies in return for his backing of favorable legislation,
reminds Illinoisans they also pay a price for Madigan’s culture of
corruption. According to research from the Illinois Policy
Institute, corruption costs Illinois’ economy an estimated $556
million per year, for a total of nearly $10.6 billion from 2000
to 2018.
Just ending Madigan’s reign will not
solve these problems. Illinois must also implement targeted reforms
to unravel the web of systemic mismanagement and corruption he’s
created, including:
-
Reform the House Rules to
spread power more evenly through its membership
- Implement budget
process reform, such as a spending cap and strengthening the
balanced budget requirement, to encourage fiscal responsibility
- Amend the
Illinois Constitution and implement true
pension reform, fixing once and for all Illinois’ most
daunting public policy challenge and erasing the most glaring
example of Madigan’s legacy of failure
With these policy changes, Illinoisans can begin to
responsibly eliminate Madigan’s mountain of debt and begin to build
a more prosperous future.
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