West Cook News

Gubernatorial candidate and State Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) reacts to Illinois being 48th in the nation for fiscal health.

If elected, Bailey promises to address the issue.

"We are paying some of the highest taxes in the country and despite our massive tax burden, Illinois is ranked 48th in the country for fiscal health," Bailey said. "What are we doing with all of the tax money we raise in Illinois? How can our finances be this bad? Of course, we know why our finances are so bad. We spend money and do not demand any accountability for how that money is spent. The end result is a state on the brink of bankruptcy. This is the legacy of JB Pritzker's failed policies. As Governor, I will take a different approach. I will demand accountability and transparency in government and I will implement a zero-based budgeting process and get Illinois out of the financial hole JB Pritzker and his allies in the House and the Senate have created.

Illinois ranks near the bottom of a new analysis of state finances across the U.S. Truth in Accounting’s 13th annual Financial State of the States ranked Illinois 48th in the country, maintaining the same spot it had last year. New Jersey and Connecticut were the only two states that were graded worse than Illinois for fiscal health. The review is of the states' fiscal year that ended June 30, 2021. According to The Center Square, Truth in Accounting noted that Illinois had about $39 billion available to pay roughly $250 billion worth of bills, a shortfall that breaks down to a burden of $49,500 per taxpayer. Because of this, Illinois was given an “F” grade for its state finances. The report also noted that Illinois was extremely tardy when releasing its annual financial report—submitted the report over 356 days after the end of the fiscal year when the standard for timeliness is 180 days. According to the report, Illinois’ financial problems were mostly due to unfunded public employee retirement obligations. 

“Those are subject to the same types of market fluctuations that we who have our own private pension funds, the governments are the exact same,” Christine Kuglin, director of the Truth in Accounting Project at The University of Denver, noting that 2021 was supposedly a favorable period for pension returns, however, situations have changed for the worse. 

The state’s pension debt liabilities decreased by $12.1 billion in 2021 after several years of stock market gains. For each dollar of expected retiree health benefits and guaranteed pension payments, Illinois has only allocated 45 cents and 1 cent for retiree health benefits. If benefits and financing are not altered, future taxpayers will be compelled to pay for the underfunded programs.

Bailey has accused incumbent Gov. J.B. Pritzker of playing politics rather than focusing on the state’s fiscal issues. 

“The 2.5 percent GDP decline in the first quarter in Illinois is higher than the average 1.6 percent decline nationally," Bailey said, Prairie State Wire reported.  "While states like Texas and Florida have been lowering taxes and creating a better business climate, the only thing JB Pritzker is offering is a commitment to be the wokest state in the country. The truth is companies want to locate where taxes are low and where there is a level playing field for all businesses not just the politically connected ones.”

When it comes to gas taxes, Illinois is a national outlier leading to some of the highest prices at the pump in the nation. Pritzker signed a measure in 2019 that doubled the state's gas tax. Illinois has the second-highest gas tax in the country. Due to the various layers of taxes imposed by multiple governments, Illinoisans pay high gas taxes. For instance, in Naperville, motorists pay roughly 25% in taxes, including federal taxes, two types of state taxes, a DuPage County tax and a local city tax, according to Wirepoints.

Bailey is a family farmer who is tasked with keeping his 12,000-acre operation in good fiscal condition. “Everything Darren Bailey owns is tied up in the land,” campaign spokesman Joe DeBose told the Chicago Sun-Times. “There’s a big difference between a man who built a family farm with his bare hands and a billionaire who inherited a trust fund.”