Illinois Budget Impasse Creates a Pipeline to Deeper Poverty
via Chicago Tribune
“For the past seven months, Illinois residents have been forced to stand by and watch Gov. Bruce Rauner and House Speaker Michael Madigan compete in a callous game of the millionaire vs. the power broker.
At first, many of us chose sides, eagerly cheering for the wealthy Republican governor who wants to balance the state budget by eliminating millions in funding for human services, or for the Democratic boss who insists that the wealthy pay more taxes.
I have to admit that in the beginning, it was interesting to watch these fierce competitors battle it out in Springfield. It was like watching our own ‘Game of Thrones,’ a kind of political grudge match we hadn’t seen in Illinois for a long time.
But it has gone on too long, and there’s no end in sight. Many of us have reached the point where we don’t care which team wins; we just want the game to be over.”
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