Why is Illinois only state to raise taxes?

A recent Wall Street Journal front page had a story on how “governors chop spending” to balance state budgets. The interesting connection to us is that Illinois is cited as the only state that is trying to restore financial health by raising taxes.

With Illinois taking a unique approach among states (even New York and California are trying to tighten the belt) I would think the voters might be interested in seeing the contrast between our approach versus where the rest of the country is going. It reinforces the approach that our elected officials are pursuing. Instead of fixing the spending problem, let’s just collect more tax revenue to balance the budget. Why live within your means when you can just take more money from the taxpaying public and maintain business as usual?

Richard Gylling

Palatine