Illinois began August with a $4.4 billion dollar backlog of unpaid bills. If lawmakers would have kept the promises they made in 2011, the backlog would be zero today – or close to it. In January 2011, Illinois lawmakers pushed through a record tax hike that raised the income tax rate on individuals to 5...

It didn’t take long for Illinois’ spending machine to cram more debt down taxpayers’ throats. Only two months after signing a pension bill, Gov. Pat Quinn is borrowing yet another $1 billion to fund state construction projects. This will be the first large borrowing for Illinois since it passed Senate Bill 1, a pension fix...

Illinois is often used as the poster child for how not to run a state. Money-hungry politicians perpetuate the state’s spending problem with higher taxes and more borrowing. Meanwhile, the state’s tax base continues to erode as tapped-out families and businesses move to states with more opportunities and friendlier business environments. Illinois’ debt has grown...

Lawmakers failed to keep their promise to pay down the state’s bills despite the fact that they are still raking in billions in new money from the 2011 tax hike. In fact, Illinois’ unpaid bills are slated to reach $9 billion during the Christmas season this year. When the Illinois General Assembly passed a record...

The Illinois General Assembly passed a record income tax increase on individuals and businesses in 2011. And Gov. Pat Quinn promised that it specifically was “designed to pay our bills.” By the end of the current fiscal year, lawmakers will have collected a total of $25.7 billion in new revenue from the 2011 tax hike....

Lawmakers have not earned the right to borrow billions more. They were unable to pay down the state’s massive backlog of bills with a $7 billion tax hike – how does anyone think they’ll be able to do it with $2.5 billion in borrowing?