Luxembourg’s ambassador to the United States has voiced objections to an Illinois House bill that would label Luxembourg a tax haven and subject corporations expatriated there to restrictions on investments and business dealings with the state of Illinois.

Illinois lawmakers should heed Moody’s Investors Service’s warnings about the state’s precarious economic health and dire fiscal situation and enact major structural spending reforms to balance the budget.

Illinois House Bill 3868 would give Gov. Bruce Rauner the authority to trim costs and reorder the state’s spending priorities to balance the budget.

Illinois state government works to prioritize special interests over taxpayers – and the budget deal being negotiated in the Senate would continue that.

An education-funding plan in the General Assembly is already proven to make unattainable goals at a high cost to taxpayers.

Forty percent of respondents to a newly released statewide poll blame the government for poverty. Poll results also show that Illinoisans feel insecure about jobs and education, in addition to frustration with government dysfunction.

State Sen. Dan McConchie, R-Hawthorne Woods, filed legislation March 23 that would give the Illinois Comptroller’s office discretion to delay payments to lawmakers if insufficient funding exists to do so. This came just hours after a Cook County judge said lawmakers must be paid.

A spokeswoman for the governor said the measure would cut overtime costs and help reduce the state’s corrections budget.

Judge Garcia points to the lack of a budget as reason enough to delay payments to legislators.

Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza is suspending funding for a technology initiative Gov. Bruce Rauner has said would save taxpayer money and promote efficiency, data security and transparency in state government.