IT WAS a holiday weekend of high political drama in Illinois as lawmakers scrambled to avert a humiliating downgrade to junk status of their state’s bonds by credit-rating agencies. “For me today, right here, right now, this is the sword that I am willing to die on,” proclaimed Michael Unes, one of the Republican state representatives who voted for the revenue and spending bills passed over the weekend by the Democratic-run House of Representatives. Several other Republican lawmakers broke into tears as they voted for tax increases they opposed ideologically but felt are needed to avoid a fall into the financial abyss. Fifteen Republican members of the house broke ranks with Bruce Rauner, the governor, who categorically refused to back the House bills.
Illinois was one of 11 states that failed to meet the deadline for passing a budget. Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island and Wisconsin were all without budgets on July 1st. In Pennsylvania and...Continue reading
Source: United States http://ift.tt/2sQTVs4
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