Illinois suffers from too much regulation

See Rauner’s Illinois Revival Project: The new Governor targets the corrupt union-political bargain from the WSJ. Excerpts:

"Mr. Rauner is making his pitch around the state with slides that show the Land of Lincoln is the Midwest’s economic laggard. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, from 2003 to 2014 Illinois had 0.2% employment growth, compared to 3.8% in Indiana, 8% in Iowa and 7.3% nationwide. Net Illinois job growth was 10,300 compared to 109,000 in Indiana and 115,900 in Iowa. Chief Executive magazine ranks Illinois the 48th for doing business, the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council ranks it 35th, and the Tax Foundation puts its business tax climate at 31st.

Central to the mess is the rising bill for state pensions and salaries, and the constant union demands for higher taxes for pay for them. Compensation costs for state employees make up about one third of the state budget, with an astonishing 25% of current state tax dollars going to fund retiree benefits and an $111 billion unfunded pension liability."

"The current system is unsustainable, but so far it has been unreformable thanks to the ties between legislators and public unions. According to the Illinois Policy Institute based on data from the state Board of Elections, between 2002 and 2014 86% of state lawmakers received campaign cash from government unions. House Speaker Michael Madigan received more than $1 million."