SPRINGFIELD, Illinois (Illinois News Network) — The Land of Lincoln is the most financially unstable state in the nation, according to new ranking by U.S. News and World Report.
The ranking of 2018’s most fiscally unstable states was conducted by McKinsey & Company, the global management and consulting firm. The report considered credit rating and state public pension liability to rank states on long-term stability. For short term, the report measured each state’s cash solvency and budget balance.
Illinois was 50th overall.
The state’s pension debt – commonly estimated at $130 billion, but measured as high as $250 billion last summer by Moody’s – was a factor. That debt load was cited by Moody’s and other creditors as a cause of the state’s near junk rating.
Rankings by short-term stability used the amount of liquid funds in a state’s budget and how balanced the state’s budget is.
Illinois’ current budget that passed last July, despite Gov. Bruce Rauner’s veto, is $1.5 billion in the red, even with a $5 billion income tax hike, according the Civic Federation.
“Illinois has been one of the most fiscally irresponsible, fiscally mismanaged state’s for decades,” Gov. Bruce Rauner said of the report.
Rauner’s been at the helm of the state since January 2015.
“I can’t even find a year where we’ve had a truly balanced budget in this state,” he said.
Rauner’s budget battle with the Democrat-controlled General Assembly led to two years without a formal budget.
Utah got the top overall spot in terms of fiscal stability. Indiana and Missouri were in the top 10.
