In Illinois, hundreds of municipal workers earn more than every state governor. The city manager of Lake Forest is the second-highest paid city manager in the state.

An investigation in December 2017 found that a convention for municipalities and public agencies ran taxpayers nearly $120,000 in exhibition and hospitality costs. A proposal making its way through the General Assembly would bar state funds from contributing to these excesses.

As the state continuously spends more than residents can afford, taxpayers in Rock Island County have seen little income growth.

Residents in Madison and St. Clair counties find themselves fleeced by lawmakers' failure to control state finances.

A proposal to tie state spending to what taxpayers can afford is earning bipartisan support in Springfield.

Mandating more reasonable spending growth is the first step in a journey back to solvency for Illinois. The cap provides certainty today for a more responsible state government tomorrow.

Growth in state spending per capita outpaced per capita personal income growth by nearly 40 percent in Jackson County.

State spending grew 25 percent faster than Illinoisans' personal income from 2005-2015.

Spending has consistently outpaced state tax revenues in Illinois for more than a decade. To avoid future tax hikes, Illinois must impose real fiscal discipline on state lawmakers.