Illinois ‘Tops’ in Worst-Run State List

I don't imagine anyone who calls Illinois home would be shocked to find that the state finished dead last in the rankings for Best Run States. According to the financial website 247wallst.com, we have problems. To determine how well each state is run, they looked at a variety of factors including unemployment rates, exports, poverty rates, educational attainment, violent crime rates, foreclosure rates and others. In the end, here it how Illinois fared. Keep in mind, there are fifty states:

50. Illinois
> Debt per capita: $4,992 (11th highest)
> Credit Rating (S&P/Moody’s): A-/A3
> 2013 unemployment rate: 9.2% (3rd highest)
> Median household income: $56,210 (17th highest)
> Poverty rate: 14.7% (25th lowest)

Illinois is the worst-run state in the nation. Like many other low-ranked states, more people left Illinois than moved there. Illinois lost more than 137,000 residents due to migration between the middle of 2010 and July 2013. A poor housing market may partly explain the exodus. Median home values fell 16.2% between 2009 and 2013, the second largest drop nationwide. Illinois has extremely poor finances by many measures. Just 39.3% of Illinois’ pension liabilities were funded as of 2013, worse than any other state. Further, the state’s reserves are estimated at just 0.5% of its general fund expenditure, the second lowest reserves rate nationwide. Both Moody’s and S&P gave Illinois the worst credit ratings of any state, at A3 and A- respectively. According to Moody’s, the state’s rating reflects its low fund balances and high pension obligations, as well as its “chronic use of payment deferrals to manage operating fund cash.”

On top of all of that swell news, we have to deal with the Bears and most likely the Cubs and White Sox next year.