From Jeanne Ives Breakthrough Ideas:
Indiana is a well-run state and can readily afford to invest in projects like the Bears.
A few more important facts about Indiana v. Illinois:
- Indiana budgets every two years, so there is much more consistency and longer-term thinking on what to spend money on.
- Indiana’s population is about 7 million; Illinois population is about 12.7 million. IN budget is $23 billion, IL is $55.9 billion. If Indiana spent as much per person as we do, its budget should be $41 billion – so it is much more fiscally conservative.
- IN spends 47% of its budget on K-12 education and offers a school choice voucher to nearly every student. IL schools complain that they need more state funding, but they elect legislators who can’t budget properly. And we do spend enough on state funding of education; it’s just that it all goes to pensions.
- IN has a 1% cap on property taxes and ranks 29th in the U.S. with an effective rate of 0.76%. IL ranks 2nd in property taxes with an effective rate of 1.88%, per the Tax Foundation. Indiana’s NAEP 4th-grade reading scores are higher than Illinois’. I didn’t check the other scores. The point is that the outcomes are similar, but we spend a lot more, and it’s tied to your property.
- Even though Illinois has a per capita much higher spending level, Indiana’s rainy day fund is about the same as IL, $2.3 billion and $2.4 billion, respectively.
- Here’s a kicker – IN spends 4.9% of its state general revenue budget on pensions; IL spends 20%, and if it fully funded pensions at the actuarial amount, IL would spend 30% of its budget on pensions. Can anyone say 401ks NOW?
Budget mismanagement compounds on itself, and Illinois is proof of that on an extreme level.
As a new State Rep, after watching the terrible process and outcome of my first budget experience (I voted NO), I wrote an opinion piece for the Chicago Tribune titled, Illinois needs to get on a serious weight-loss program. I bring this up to illustrate that our budgeting has been terrible for the year. In that piece, I wrote:
Illinois has an unusual weight problem. State leaders’ appetite for grease-laden power and political control has led to a $100 billion crisis that is clogging the arteries and slowing the flow of blood to the heart of Illinois. Figuratively speaking, we Illinoisans can no longer button our pants. The state could eventually collapse into an unresponsive state. A strict weight-loss regimen is necessary.
The first thing a weight-loss coach would recommend is a multipronged approach. First, we have to develop a clear vision for results — perhaps, tape a picture of our slimmer, sexier sister, Indiana, to the refrigerator — followed by psychological counseling for our addictions. Finally, our goals need to be measurable and specific.
Nothing has changed, and Indiana – our slimmer, sexier sister – will now be the perfectly fit cheerleader for The Bears.
