Keep Illinois from becoming ‘next Detroit’

Thanks for the report about the pension crisis on the front page of the Jan. 21 Daily Herald. Illinois citizens need to understand that the pension and deficit crisis are still getting worse. We must pass our financial concerns about Illinois to the politicians running for office in 2014.

I was pleased when our Illinois representatives and governor passed pension reform legislation in late 2013. Although this pension legislation is facing a legal battle, the financial savings are of critical importance to our state’s survival. However, these pension savings are not nearly enough to reduce the entire deficit in Illinois. Our citizens must demand that our politicians find solutions to balancing our budget during every legislative session. One result of Illinois politicians not addressing their fiscal responsibility is the citizens of Illinois getting fed up and leaving our state.

According to the article in Investor’s Business Daily on Jan. 21, Illinois had the highest out-migration from 2010-2012 of any state, except for Rhode Island. The net impact is fewer Illinoisans who are paying taxes to help pay our state’s bills. If our pension and deficit problems are not solved quickly, then Illinois could become the “next Detroit.”

Jim Letterer

Schaumburg