Our Prayers are with the People of Florida Devasted by Hurricane Ian.
And Our disdain is for the heartless Left trying to politicize a natural catastrophe.
- Occupy Democrats Delete Tweet Wishing Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Estate Was Destroyed by Hurricane Ian (thegatewaypundit.com)
- Don Lemon blames Hurricane Ian on climate change, says he knows because he grew up in Florida. NOAA’s hurricane expert had thoughts. | Not the Bee
We are thankful for the safe return of Mark Frerichs.
I got to meet Mark’s parents and had dinner with them in 2020, not too long after Mark was taken hostage by the Taliban. His father wrote me the nicest note during my run for office. He is a true patriot and proud of his son’s service and was frightened for his safe return. Many prayers have been answered. Despite the constant stress of not knowing where he was or what conditions he was living under, the family never lost hope and never stopped pushing for Mark’s release.
No Fiscal Sanity in Illinois
You’ve heard the Governor and others bragging about Illinois’ economic improvement; here are some facts to consider.
And by the way, Illinois should be leading the country economically. We are held back entirely by bad policy, the latest being the future shutdown of coal and natural gas in the state when those provide 40% of our energy. And the future bad policy would be passing Amendment 1. Only thoughtless politicians with a political agenda pass unworkable legislation like that!
Below is my recorded Reveille about the state of the state of Illinois. Here’s the transcript with the sources for the facts presented. << WATCH HERE >>
Fiscal Reality
Reveille
Welcome to Silly Season, where voters are inundated with political ads with a slim thread of truth in them. To set the record straight on the state of the state of Illinois fiscally, here are a few facts to consider about Illinois.
Second Highest property taxes in the nation, more than double the national average.
Property Taxes by State (wallethub.com)
Ranked 44th, or 6th worst, in overall tax burden by the Tax Foundation
Tax Burden by State: 2022 State and Local Taxes | Tax Foundation
Worst credit rating in the country across all rating agencies, only slightly improved in the last year by a massive infusion of federal COVID money.
Illinois credit rating gets an upgrade, remains lowest in the country (sj-r.com)
Ranked third from the bottom in best places to locate a company by Chief Executive Magazine,
Best and Worst States For Business (chiefexecutive.net)
Just this week, ranked among the three most-at-risk markets for housing by ATTOM, a nationwide land and property data company.
Dominant List of Vulnerable Housing Markets | ATTOM (attomdata.com)
Third worst in the nation for accumulated debt per taxpayer. Between 2020 and 2021, Illinois taxpayer burden increased by $5,000 to $57,000 per taxpayer to pay off accumulated debt, according to Truth in Accounting.
Financial State of the States 2021 : News : Truth in Accounting
The third worst unemployment rate in the nation. By comparison, Indiana ranks 15th, Iowa 10th, and Missouri 8th. Despite Illinois having a more diversified and much bigger economy than our neighbors.
- Illinois lags Midwest, U.S. in unemploy ment recovery | Illinois | thecentersquare.com
- Unemployment Rates for States (bls.gov)
And statewide, Illinois has only recovered 86% of the non-farm jobs since the pandemic.
10 Illinois metro areas gain jobs, only 1 recovers from pandemic (illinoispolicy.org)
The federal government poured in $186 billion in COVID relief money to prop up businesses, taxpayers, and state and local governments. But for federal taxpayer largesse, Illinois governments would have to make cuts or borrow to cover current expenses.
The party is over in Illinois. Taxpayers can expect 5 property tax increases this year. And Nothing will change unless voters wake up.
