With the 2018 budget set to spend at least $1.3 billion more than it takes in, members of the General Assembly have hoodwinked Illinoisans once again.

A new tax on sugary drinks designed to generate revenue for cash-strapped Cook County will be the third burdensome tax applied to soda prices in Chicago, making a $4 12-pack of soda in the city cost $5.97.

New numbers from the Illinois comptroller’s office show that Illinois’ unpaid bill backlog has climbed to more than $14 billion. In August 2016, Moody’s Investors Service predicted Illinois’ bill backlog would reach $14 billion by summer 2017.

Only in Illinois could a budget deal that hits struggling Illinoisans with billions in new taxes be called a “grand bargain.”

Full transcript of Governor Bruce Rauner​’s 2016 budget address, as prepared for delivery to the General Assembly on Feb. 17, 2016.

Transcript, provided by Gov. Bruce Rauner’s office, of his 2016 State of the State address, as prepared for delivery, to the General Assembly on January 27, 2016.

Donna Arduin is an Illinois Policy Institute senior fellow and a partner at Arduin, Laffer & Moore Econometrics, a group that advises federal, state and municipal leaders, as well as political candidates and private-sector clients, on economic, fiscal and state policies.