The down-state residents and legislators that want to detach Chicago from the State of Illinois may want to reevaluate their desires. Although the City of Big Shoulders is not perfect, it appears to be positioned better at the start of 2012 than the rest of the Land of Lincoln.
Since his inauguration as mayor of Chicago in May of 2011, Rahm Emanuel has:
- Helped pass legislation to increase the Chicago school day;
- Overseen first-year budget cost savings totaling $51 million;
- Attracted the G-8 and NATO summits to Chicago to shine an international spotlight on the city (unless the protestors and the law enforcement reaction to them remind the world of the 1968 Democratic Convention);
- Secured major job creation commitments from entities such as United Airlines, Chase bank, Walgreens and Allscripts and
- Received additional respective job retention (CME Group) and job creation (ComEd) benefits thanks to recent actions by the Illinois Statehouse.
This is in stark contrast to the State of Illinois, which recently:
- Saw a trend continue of having a higher unemployment rate than the nation (i.e. the November 2011 U.S. rate was 8.6 compared to Illinois’ rate of 10.0);
- Had Governor Quinn announce a period of fiscal austerity that is projected to force a 9 percent reduction in overall operations for the next fiscal year;
- Was accused of being held hostage by companies such as Sears and CME who secured large job retention incentives from the state; and
- Saw Moody’s Investors Service reduce the state bond rating to the lowest in the nation (A2), citing “weak management practices” and a lack of resolve in dealing with long-term fiscal issues as the causes.
Some of the questions to be answered in the Illinois Statehouse in 2012 will be:
- Will there be a challenge to the constitutionality of reducing currently retired state employees’ pension benefits;
- Will the General Assembly pass the 6 percent reduction in Medicaid reimbursement rates it rejected in 2011;
- Will there be a revised Chicago casino bill that the General Assembly and Governor Quinn can both support;
- Will Illinois develop a comprehensive energy strategy that can parlay the benefits of Smart Grid incorporation and include new solar, wind and coal technologies; and
- Will the legislative remaps create veto-proof majorities in the Illinois House and Senate or will there be voter backlash against the Democratic Party? (The Democratic side of the General Assembly only needs to pick up one seat in the Senate and eight in the House to get the coveted veto-proof lead)s.
It is possible that the federal government may see some shifts that can help Downstate Illinoisans get to an even keel with the City of Big Shoulders. Ironically, the odds of that happening probably hinge on whether a certain Chicagoan is reelected President of the United States later this year.
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