Lawmakers made no serious attempt to balance the new budget, instead counting on a federal bailout. They accepted an $1,800 raise for themselves, while only making significant cuts to education.

With more than 1.1 million Illinoisans out of work, some of the highest-paid state lawmakers in the nation are in line for a raise – though some are fighting back.

What to watch for as the Illinois General Assembly convenes for the first time in more than two months.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker, House Speaker Mike Madigan and other Illinois leaders were banking on a federal bailout long before COVID-19. How else can one explain their recklessness?

Two decades of fiscal mismanagement have left state finances ill-prepared for the COVID-19 pandemic. Congress should condition any additional aid for troubled states on taxpayer protections that ensure pensions are solvent, accounting is realistic and budgets are balanced.

Property taxes in Illinois are nearly double the national average. Until state lawmakers trim down thousands of local governments and pursue pension reform, those bills wills remain high.

The years 2010 through 2019 will go down in Illinois history as a decade of public policy failure and economic decline. High fixed costs for pensions and government worker health care have prevented the state from balancing its budget in any year since 2001. Since the Great Recession in 2008, the state’s fiscal imbalance has...