SE Illinois News

Republican state House candidate Paul Jacobs argues the findings of a new WalletHub.com survey concluding that Illinois is one of the neediest states in the country in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic give validity to what he’s long being preaching.

We must cut, cut, cut,” Jacobs, running in the115th District, told the SE Illinois News. “We cannot add additional taxes to have even more people move out of the state. Many people have moved from the state during the COVID quarantine thinking that our schools will not open in the fall. They are moving into states that seem to have a better chance of opening so their children can continue their education.”

Researchers also noted Illinois ranks near the bottom in terms of state and local debt per capita, including on the metric of unfunded pension liabilities. Those are estimated at more than $138 billion. In all, researchers looked at 18 different metrics, among them a state's preparedness for a severe recession, the number of unemployment claims, and unfunded pension liabilities.

Jacobs, a Carbondale resident, laments the state’s newly passed $42 billion budget offers little to change things for the better. 

“Their previous budget was $40 billion and was based on pie in the sky income that was truly smoke and mirrors with a deficit of $6 billion,” he said. “Add in the billions that we are losing during COVID; add the loss of sales taxes from a quarantine that created no sales for all of the cities throughout the state and we are going to still have to cut.  We can’t continue to spend, spend, spend.”

Jacobs argues despite the rosy picture being presented by Democrats in Springfield, nothing about the state’s new spending plan really adds up.

“No, a budget of $42 billion is not going to work,” he said. “It’s a shame that they didn’t begin to cut with the newest budget.”