By now, most of you have seen State Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, IL, quote Moses during his tirade on the Illinois House floor when Democrats ignored Republican attempts to remove school districts from the cost shifting plan over concerns that it could result in local property tax hikes. Rep. Bost's display may have been a bit extravagant, but his frustration with his colleagues' inability to deal with pension reform in an honest, direct manner is understandable. Hopefully, this demonstration will generate widespread media coverage to this often overlooked and downplayed financial crisis that so many states across the country face.
Recently, Steve Malanga produced a great article outlining the failures of the Illinois model for handling their budget deficit and backlog of unpaid bills. In light of this ongoing debate and juxtaposed with the success of Illinois' neighbor Wisconsin, Illinois Shows What Not to Do is well worth a read.
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