IllinoisIsBroke.com at Will County Fair

The non-profit, non-partisan group Illinois is Broke staffed a booth at the Will County Fair.

IllinoisIsBroke.com at the Will County Fair

According to their pamphlet, IllinoisIsBroke.com is "made up of concerned organizations and citizens from across the state--including business executives, civic organizations and social service agencies, small business owners and employees, parents and students.  This effort was initiated by the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago.  We are unified by a common concern for the future of Illinois-its economy, the public services it provides, its business climate and its quality of life.  The state is on the brink of insolvency--the consequences of which would impact every person in Illinois.  We have joined together to say: Enough is enough! The State's budget must be reformed-key programs must be restructured and we must live within our means.  The largest problem is an obsolete and costly retirement system for public employees.  The Illinois Legislature recently enacted needed reforms for future employee--those not yet hired--but it did not go far enough.  We must implement reforms to restore Illinois to stability."

According to the interns at the Illinois Is Broke table, the group is concerned that Illinois now has a worse credit rating than California.  The group is also concerned that new businesses will not want to locate in Illinois--and thus create new jobs--because of the budget situation.

Illinois Is Broke intern Molly Miller of Wilmette, Illinois said the group has reached out to citizens at events throughout the state, such as fairs and festivals in Kankakee County, Kane County, Naperville, and Lake County.  According to Miller, at the Lake County Fair, business owners talked about locating their business in Wisconsin instead of Illinois. 

According to Miller, Illinois Is Broke has attended Chamber of Commerce meetings and done interviews with radio stations in order to make sure Illinois elected officials and candidates know the budget is a major concern for the people of Illinois.