Ill-inois

So, for the third year running, Illinois legislators have failed to pass a budget and, as a result, the state has lost both the Powerball and Mega Millions lottery games. (You have to be in it to win it and since we can't pay our bills due to the lack of a budget, we're out of it!) More important than the loss of two popular lottery games are the lack of funds needed for construction projects, social services, and educational programs. The government legislators across both parties and the governor are both pathetic and ridiculous. They'd rather jeopardize the financial status of the state and its citizens rather than work together to find a way to deal with the mess before them. Now I know decades of corruption and foolishness have led to the current problems, but the only path moving forward is to make some hard decisions and try to get this state back on track. I believe the state is headed for "junk" status per the financial ratings systems. That's sad, but the truth hurts. Perhaps Illinois needs to hit rock bottom before it can start to climb out of the hole.

In other news, I visited Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood and the campus of the University of Chicago yesterday. Great architecture.