CHICAGO-A new report shows Illinois citizens how much the state owes in debts and the dangers from it. U.S. Republican Senator Mark Kirk today released the Report on Illinois Debt. The report shows that the state owes over $30 billion on top of unpaid bills. The state's unpaid bills have totaled $8.3 billion. Health and pension obligations have totaled over $140 billion. Illinois has payed almost $3 billion in interest on the money already borrowed annually. Prospects for repayment are difficult. Illinois lost over 190,000 jobs since January 2001. The City of Chicago lost over 200,000 people during the same period. Illinois citizens face higher taxes and larger debts because so many of their fellow citizens have moved to other, more fiscally responsible states. The State lost over 85,000 net taxpayers between 1995 and 2007 to neighboring states. Taxpayer flight between 1995 and 2007 cost Illinois an estimated $2.4 billion in tax revenue. Most people have went to Wisconsin and Indiana. The people of Illinois owes twice as much to the state as people in Indiana, Iowa, and Missouri, and three times more than people in Wisconsin and Michigan. While Illinois is an American state with substantially stronger institutions than Europe, its debt load per person is higher than for citizens in Spain, Portugal, Ireland, or Greece. According to the report, the state of Illinois has the lowest credit rating in the nation, classified as a A1 rating. Bordering states such as Indiana and Iowa have the highest credit ratings in the nation, classified as a triple-a rating. Because Illinois has such a poor credit rating, local governments must pay higher interest rates than similar communities in better-run states. The report was prepared in consultation with Senator Kirk's Sovereign Debt Advisory Board, chaired by financial expert Henry Feinberg. - http://goo.gl/WOUk1
