HOW TO BANKRUPT A STATE IN PLAIN SIGHT
Illinois and Chicago’s Fiscal Mirage: Overspending Masquerading as “Revenue Shortfalls”
For decades, Illinois leaders promised everything, delivered little, and left taxpayers footing the bill. Now, Chicago and the state itself stand as cautionary tales of what happens when government refuses to live within its means.
By Staff Writer • September 22, 2025
The Bill That Broke the Illusion
On a quiet street in Chicago’s Northwest Side, Mary Lopez stared at the envelope in her hands. Inside was her annual property tax bill—$9,800, nearly double what she had paid just six years earlier. It was more than her mortgage.
“I can’t keep this up,” she whispered. “We love our home, but how do you raise kids like this?”
Mary is not alone. Across Chicago and Illinois, families are confronting bills they cannot pay, for services that keep getting worse. Schools close, roads crumble, crime climbs—but taxes soar. Politicians call it a “revenue challenge.” The reality is something else entirely.
“Illinois doesn’t have a revenue problem—it has a spending problem that’s become structural, systemic, and generational.”
The Mirage of “Not Enough Revenue”
Chicago faces a $1.15 billion projected deficit in 2026. Illinois carries more than $140 billion in unfunded pension liabilities. Year after year, leaders say the solution is more taxes. Yet Illinois already ranks among the most heavily taxed states in the nation.
The problem is not that Illinoisans are unwilling to pay. The problem is that their government spends beyond all reason—and has done so for decades.
Chicago: The Runaway City
Between 2019 and 2025, Chicago’s expenditures ballooned by nearly $7 billion—a 62% increase. By comparison:
Los Angeles grew 30%.
New York City just 25%.
The average of the nation’s largest cities was 38%.
“Chicago’s budget growth is not tied to growth in services or residents—it’s tied to promises politicians cannot afford.”
The surge was fueled by skyrocketing pension contributions and union contracts that City Hall never had the money to cover. Federal pandemic aid supercharged the binge, funding recurring obligations as if the money would never run out. When it did, taxpayers were left with the bill.
Illinois: The State That Never Balances Its Books
At the state level, the picture is even worse. The Illinois Constitution requires a balanced budget. On paper, Springfield claims to pass one every year. In reality, it hasn’t done so in decades. Lawmakers borrow, shift funds, and rely on one-time revenues to pretend the books balance.
“Balanced in name only, Illinois’ budgets are an illusion that lets lawmakers avoid the pain of real choices.”
The 1995 “pension ramp” law delayed payments but locked in catastrophic costs for the future. Governors then skipped contributions altogether. Now, pensions consume nearly a quarter of Illinois’ general fund, crowding out money for schools, healthcare, and public safety.
One-Party Rule and No Business Sense
How did it get this bad? Look at the leadership. Illinois has lived for decades under one-party Democratic dominance, both in Springfield and Chicago. That dominance has eliminated accountability and erased meaningful debate.
Few lawmakers have private-sector experience. They have never had to balance a budget, meet a payroll, or make a tough cut. Instead, they govern as though taxpayer money has no limits.
“We are governed by people who’ve never had to make a payroll, never had to risk their own money, and never had to say ‘no’ to spending they couldn’t afford.”
The Voter’s Reflection
But politicians don’t act alone. Voters keep re-electing them.
Despite rising taxes, declining services, and mass outmigration, Illinoisans continue to choose the same leaders every election cycle. The result is predictable: nothing changes.
“If voters want Illinois to climb out of this hole, they must stop rehiring the very politicians who dug it.”
The cost of complacency is clear. Illinois has lost more than 100,000 residents in the last decade. Families pack up. Businesses shutter. Neighborhoods hollow out. And those who remain shoulder heavier and heavier burdens.
The Taxpayer’s Burden
Illinois already has some of the highest taxes in America:
Property taxes that rival mortgages.
Sales and gas taxes that gouge working families.
Layered city, county, and state levies that choke small businesses.
Yet despite record revenues, deficits persist. Services shrink. And politicians demand more.
“Illinoisans are told they don’t pay enough—yet they already pay more than almost anyone else in the nation.”
The Way Out
Illinois and Chicago cannot tax their way out of this. They must choose reform over ruin:
Pension Reform – Amend the constitution to allow changes to unsustainable promises.
Union Accountability – Contracts tied to real revenues, not politics.
True Balanced Budgets – Ban gimmicks, enforce actual limits.
Spending Prioritization – Core services first, political giveaways last.
Voter Courage – Demand leaders who tell the truth, not comforting lies.
“Without structural reform, every tax hike is just fuel for the fire. Illinoisans deserve better.”
Conclusion: The Haunting Choice Ahead
Chicago’s looming deficit is not an isolated problem. It is a symptom of Illinois’ disease. A state ruled by one party, led by politicians with no business grounding, has promised the impossible and mortgaged the future.
The price is being paid by people like Mary Lopez—families who open property tax bills larger than their mortgages. By small business owners who lock their doors for the last time. By neighborhoods left hollow, unsafe, and forgotten.
And the danger is not contained. If Illinois spirals into collapse, the rest of the nation may be forced to bail it out.
“The choice is no longer whether Illinois and Chicago can afford to change. The question is whether taxpayers can afford to stay if they don’t.”
Great states don’t die in one dramatic collapse. They erode slowly—budget by budget, election by election—until the foundation gives way. Illinois is already far down that road.
Unless voters break the cycle and demand a new course, the Land of Lincoln will not just be struggling. It will be lost.
The reckoning isn’t years away. It has already begun.
Sources:
Illinois Constitution, Article VIII, Section 2 (Balanced Budget Requirement)
Illinois Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (Pension Debt Data)
U.S. Census Bureau, State & Local Government Finance and Population Estimates
City of Chicago Budget Office, Financial Forecasts
