Vallas: Illinois’ woes say more about Pritzker, Johnson than Trump
Illinois leaders have built a legacy of massive government spending deficits, extortionate taxes, marauding criminals and failing schools. Instead of Trump-proofing Illinois, maybe we need to Pritzker- and Johnson-proof it.
In Illinois and Chicago, Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Mayor Brandon Johnson consistently make statements bemoaning President Donald Trump’s return.
The governor is vowing to stand up for those with “new uncertainty about their future, scared that their rights will no longer be protected, and unsure whether this nation still stands with them.” The mayor is promising to protect “vulnerable communities” from the new president’s “hate” and “attacks.”
It’s obvious Pritzker and Johnson see Trump as a political bogeyman they can use to leverage their own political fortunes. But their rhetoric is political fearmongering at its finest. Both the state and city are well equipped to protect people’s “fundamental rights” and have policies in place to protect against government overreach, real or imagined.
Illinois residents must not forget the conditions Pritzker and Johnson have brought upon the state of Illinois and city of Chicago. These conditions adversely impact the quality of life people wake up to every day. No amount of Trump bashing will hide the fact Chicago’s and Illinois’ governments are failing taxpayers.
Consider the following…
Chicago and Illinois are in financial crisis
Despite almost $6 billion in federal COVID relief for the city, schools and transit system and having raised property taxes almost $1 billion, Chicago and Chicago Public Schools are each facing budget deficits approaching $1 billion next year. Not to be outdone, the state of Illinois also faces a $3.1 billion budget deficit next year and a projected $22 billion shortfall during the next five years – even after receiving over $54 billion in federal COVID funds and despite raising taxes by over $1 billion.
Meanwhile, Chicago’s pension debt exceeds that of 43 states and Illinois leads the nation in debt. With the state facing serious financial challenges, Pritzker may want to consider what he says about his own practices.
Illinois is among the highest-taxed states in the nation
Illinois consistently ranks among the least tax-friendly states for middle-class families. The state has the second-highest property taxes in the nation, eighth-highest combined sales tax and above-average income taxes. WalletHub reported Illinois’ low- to middle-income earners see the highest tax burden in the U.S. Yet, residents may face another round of taxes and fee hikes as Pritzker rushes to fill a significant budget shortfall during the next five years.
Chicago, the economic engine of the Prairie State, mandates residents pay among the highest property taxes, sales taxes, fees and fines in the country – with property taxes expected to soon rise substantially. The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy found Chicago businesses are burdened with the highest commercial property taxes among large cities.
Despite boasting a progressive agenda, the state ranks last in equity
A 2024 study by WalletHub ranked Illinois last in equity using eight basic economic measures of prosperity, including poverty rate, homelessness, labor force participation, homeownership, median annual household income and unemployment rate.
Illinois’ post-pandemic economic recovery has lagged the nation
Despite Pritzker’s upbeat outlook for the state economy, Illinois has experienced the slowest recovery from the pandemic and continues to lag in comparison to its Midwestern neighbors. Illinois has been near the bottom for state job growth for the past decade and what job growth there was came largely from government employment. The state has only 15,400 more jobs on net than were available in January 2020 before COVID-19 hit. All but 500 of the jobs came from the government.
Crime is on the rise across Illinois and Chicago
Illinois has the third-highest rate of robbery among all states, the highest in the Midwest and ranks second in the region for its murder rate. Chicago remains one of the most violent cities, leading the nation in murders and mass shootings. If Chicago were a state, it would be second only to California in mass shootings.
In 2023, Illinois implemented the SAFE-T Act, the first ever statewide pre-trail release program. With nebulous and confusing or hard-to-implement language, the SAFE-T Act could be improved by amending it to make it easier to detain anyone who attacks, threatens or intimidates victims, witnesses or first responders.
Illinois spends the most yet gets the least from its public schools
According to recent Nation’s Report Card results, fewer than one-third of Illinois public school children are proficient in reading and math. This despite spending $43.6 billion on education in 2024, up from $35 billion in 2019, and employing some of the highest-paid teachers in the U.S.
People are voting with their feet
Illinois is experiencing the largest exodus of residents in the nation, behind only California and New York. Illinois was one of only three states to see its population shrink from 2010 to 2020. Chicago’s population is the same as it was 100 years ago in 1920, with a large spike in departures by Chicago’s Black residents – overwhelmingly middle-income families with children. While there was a 14% decline in the city’s Black population from 2000 to 2020, the number of Black children, age 17 and younger, fell by 49%. The main reasons people move are lower cost of living and better jobs.
Unlimited illegal migration seems to be the state and city solution for population loss
Pritzker, Johnson and The Far Left see unlimited illegal migration as the solution to Illinois’ and Chicago’s historic population exodus, going as far as refusing to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to arrest known criminals. The Center for Immigration Studies reports 530,000 illegal migrants have come to the state through Illinois’ sanctuary state status and Chicago’s sanctuary city policies. Chicago has spent more than $400 million on the migrant crisis since 2022, with Illinois spending at least $478 million.
Pritzker and Johnson would rather pay billions to attract migrants than change policies that lead to the high crime, high taxes and bad schools that caused over 1 million residents to leave in the first place.
Pritzker and Johnson can keep trying to make the new Trump Administration the villain, but they certainly won’t see a federal government willing to send another $54 billion to temporarily rescue them from their fiscal mismanagement. Illinois residents should expect state and local taxes, which went up during the pandemic despite the massive federal bailout, to rise even more under the state and city finger-pointers-in-chief.