By GREG BISHOP for the ILLINOIS RADIO NETWORK
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (IRN) — State government finances in Illinois have continued to deteriorate during a decade of national economic growth, according to the latest analysis from Truth In Accounting.
The public finance watchdog reviewed state government finances from all 50 states for its latest Fiscal State of the States report.
Research Director Bill Bergman said Illinois went from No. 48 last year to No. 49 this year.
“We’re second-worst in the nation,” Bergman said. “New Jersey is the only one that’s ahead of us on that score, and it’s not a pretty picture. The deterioration happened in a year when the overall, or 50-state average, improved last year. Illinois did not improve. It continued to deteriorate.”
Illinois got a financial grade of “F” in Truth In Accounting’s report because each taxpayer owes $52,600 for the state’s $223.9 billion in debt. That’s up about $1,000 from the year before, Bergman said.
The interest owed on the debt has also climbed about $2 billion.
“That works out to roughly $450 to $500 per taxpayer in Illinois as opposed to, let’s just look next door at Indiana where you’ve got about $20 per taxpayer (in interest),” Bergman said.
Truth In Accounting said the largest of Illinois’ bills is the state’s more than $139 billion in unfunded state government worker pension liabilities.
Illinois’ finances continue to deteriorate despite improved investment returns from a booming stock market.
“We’ve had a massive financial market recovery in the last ten years,” Bergman said. “That may not be there in the future and as a result, I’m afraid taxpayers haven’t learned their lesson in Illinois.”
Illinois’ fiscal condition is the result of decades of fiscal malpractice by elected officials, he said.
“And yet we still elect people that have gotten us into this position,” Bergman said. “Maybe we’ve earned what we’ve sowed. We’ve chosen to elect these people and we’re going to pay the price for it.”
Given the amount of debt taxpayers are expected to pay in Illinois, Bergman said that might scare off investment.
“Illinois, Connecticut, New Jersey, they’re losing population compared to where they were and they’re also losing economic growth,” he said.
Illinois’ growth for years has been slower than the national average. The state’s unemployment rate remains above the national average.