Decades of institutionalized financial mismanagement left Illinois with the nation’s worst fiscal health. Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan has been at the center of nearly every bad decision along the way.

Illinois’ financial outlook was changed from ‘stable’ to ‘negative’ by two major ratings firms, raising the risk the state’s credit rating will formally fall to non-investment grade status.

Facing down a $3 billion deficit, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker offered an unbalanced budget including more tax hikes, borrowing and spending. He claimed severe cuts were the only alternative, but another option exists.

Trying to fix a massive pension deficit with more tax increases, deferring payments and gambling with taxpayer money is a recipe for failure.

One year after a record-setting tax hike the state still can’t balance a budget, has done nothing to solve long-term fiscal problems and has further damaged its economic growth.

Even after a 32 percent income tax hike, the Illinois General Assembly passed a state budget in 2017 that will generate an estimated $1.5 billion deficit in fiscal year 2018. That deficit is projected to grow to $2.15 billion in fiscal year 2019, according to the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget, or GOMB. The...