Amy Elik | Contributed photo
Amy Elik | Contributed photo
Amy Elik argues most lawmakers in Springfield need to only glance in the mirror to get a good look of why Illinois continues to struggle so mightily with budgeting and finances.
“The Democrat-led legislature had an opportunity to make responsible spending cuts, which the governor had asked all departments to propose,” Elik now running against incumbent state Rep. Monica Bristow (D-Alton) in the 111th District, told the Metro East Sun. “No real cuts were made, therefore, we are left in a precarious situation where we have an unbalanced budget that relies on the federal government to loan and/or gift us taxpayer dollars in order to cover the shortfall. The best route would have been to truly balance the budget, with real revenue estimates and spending reforms.”
Elik adds the findings in a new WalletHub.com survey that concludes the state is now among the neediest in the country stemming from the fallout caused by the COVID-19 also come as no great surprise. Researchers added that Illinois now ranks as the sixth-neediest state in the country, with part of its poor standing deriving from its instability that was there before the pandemic broke out.
The state also ranked near the bottom in terms of state and local debt per capita, including on the metric of unfunded pension liabilities, which are estimated at more than $138 billion. Elik laments the state’s newly passed $42 billion budget is just more of the same funny math and bad policy.
“The 2021 budget relies on the promise of a bailout from the federal government and Illinois' Democrat leaders have no shame asking taxpayers in other states to bail out our years of fiscal mismanagement,” she said. “As a CPA, I see that this budget is nothing but a gimmick to trick voters in an election year, into thinking that we are on solid footing, and nothing could be further from the truth.”
Elik said she only sees one way for the state to dig its way from out of the hole it’s created for itself.
“Illinois can gain financial stability by electing leaders who realize the true magnitude of the problem and have the courage to make difficult decisions to get us back on track,” she said.
Alerts Sign-up