JB Pritzker is acting presidential too bad his state is in such shambles

JB Pritzker made headlines when he called for “mass protests” against the Trump administration.There’s no question, the second-term governor of Illinois is positioning himself for a presidential run, as he crisscrosses the country lauding his time serving the citizens of the Prairie State.“We enshrined reproductive rights into law.

We legalized cannabis.We protected labor rights.

We joined the US Climate Alliance,” he told a packed room in New Hampshire in late April.“I’m not going to go through the rest.” But what he’s not telling the crowd about Illinois is precisely what Americans need to know most. Americans are more worried today about the nation’s financial problems than they’ve been in a decade.

A recent Gallup poll found that 81% of Americans are personally concerned a “great deal” or “fair amount” about federal spending and the federal deficit. A federal government run like the state of Illinois would do little to quell their fears.Today, Illinois has more than $200 billion in unfunded pension liabilities, with the state’s government pension systems hovering around 50% funded.

(By comparison, even the most conservative estimates place New York state’s pension fund at 99% funded.) It’s bad news for pensioners, who live with the uncertainty of not knowing if a retirement check from the state could bounce.It’s perhaps even worse news for Illinois taxpayers, who are on the hook for such enormous liabilities. Already, Illinoisans are taxed to the hilt. WalletHub recently named Illinois the state with the single highest state and local tax bill in the nation.

The median Illinois household pays $13,099 each year to a complicated web of government entities.I personally pay taxes to 17 different levels of government, including the state, three school districts, a mosquito abatement district, water reclamation district, park district, health facilities, forest preserve and more. That’s in addition to sales taxes...