Editorial: Illinois' debt puts Georgia on our minds

Here's something that nobody's talking about: Georgia voters will have a lot to say about how much pain and suffering the future's going to hold in Illinois.

The conventional wisdom is that the two Republicans in the Jan. 5 runoff election - Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue - will win reelection, and we have no reason to doubt it.

But there's an outside chance for an upset and if Democrats Jon Ossoff and Rapheal Warnock won, that would create a 50-50 split in the Senate balance of power, providing soon-to-be vice president Kamala Harris with the tiebreaking vote.

Given Georgia's political traditions, that would be a stunning development, but with everything else that's gone on in the past year, who can be shocked by anything anymore?

Obviously, those two runoff elections have significant implications for the nation. If Republicans maintain control, soon-to-be president Joe Biden will have a tough time getting most of his agenda through Congress. If Democrats manage to take the edge, as razor close as it would be, Biden still would have to try to collaborate, but the more moderate elements of his agenda likely would be passed.

But here's an added prediction: Among the elements a Congress controlled by Democrats would pass is help for states like Illinois.

What almost nobody's talking about is that help would not be limited to costs of the pandemic and the economic damage it wrought. Illinois' monumental pension-driven debt also would be on the table, as it would be for other states in similar condition.

So, rightly or wrongly, that's the direct stake all of us in Illinois have in the outcome of the Georgia election. If Loeffler or Perdue win - it only takes one for Republicans to maintain control - Illinois is on its own in dealing with its problems. If Ossoff and Warnock win, expect Illinois to get bailed out, at least to some degree.

The financial problems Illinois faces are as real as they are self-created.

At the moment, it looks like tax increases are inevitable and that program cuts are likely. But Gov. J.B. Pritzker has quite a dilemma. The same time that he needs to create revenue is the worst time to be leaning on local businesses that are desperate for relief.

It's unlikely, but his godsend - and ours - may rest in Georgia. The sad reality is that though we may have a stake in it, Illinois has done nothing to deserve it.