This afternoon, Illinois swore a̶t̶ in Gov. Bruce Rauner, the first GOPer since the early 2000s.
I don't envy him.
Pensions, budget shortfalls, infrastructure, - these are a few of my favorite landmines. Illinois' govt. pension funding is so poor, that it may approach 30% of the budget in the near future. Yet, little or nothing has been done to stop double dipping, a technique where a favored employee earns full benefits, retires, and the next day, is hired in a similar post, effectively doubling his/her pension down the road. Little has been done to eradicate fraud and some truly offensive examples of waste.
Rauner made some news in his speech. He was fairly accurate with his descriptions of the roadblocks, potholes, and financial troubles the state faces.
Most notably, he announced that all contracts signed since November 1, 2014, are now cancelled. (I hope he had some lawyers look at this). He also ordered every state agency to cease all discretionary spending, making payments only on essential projects. (I have no idea what constitutes discretionary spending, and hope he had some lawyers look at this, too.) He also is refusing all state benefits and salary for himself, stating that his billions will see him through these tough times.
Anyway, while he is not a teabagger or a Scott Walker clone, it looks like he is taking some strong steps. We shall see whether any of them pan out.
Given the dire state of our finances, I wish Rauner the best of luck. The state will sure need some. However, Illinois is doing better than Indiana (mainly because Indiana suffers from being filled with Indianians) and Wisconsin (which suffers from rampant, unbridled walkerism) in job growth, economic strength in the private sector, and private financial resources.
In terms of natural resources, Illinois is blessed. Wind power galore, great productive farm land, superb water access, a new general manager for the Bears, and for those who like to pollute, tons of coal. We are now creating so much electricity that we can safely shut down 3 more nuclear sites because they are more expensive to operate than other sources of power. We also have Chicago, quite possibly the bestest, greatest, prettiest, nicest, and culturally strong city in the US and A, if not one of the top cities in the whirled. Few states can boast anything like it. Seeing the city from the Lake or from the Chicago River still sends thrills down my back. As natural resources go, Chicago is irreplaceable.