Morris is an unusual Community in many respects. The most unusual is the town’s great financial shape. Perhaps it has been luckier than most small towns, big cities, states, and the federal government. Responsible leadership has helped here.

Illinois has been mismanaged for decades. Governor Thompson’s Chief of Staff was later Governor Jim Edgar. He was credited at the time, now discredited, for coming up with the pension payment plan to balance their budget. Instead of making the payment needed to keep the plans current, they ramped the payments so they paid a little causing the more and more to be paid later. It just kicked the can down the road. Governor Blagojevich was faced with a budget deficit so he borrowed money from the plans and didn’t make the needed payment.

Reducing the income tax is also a contributing factor in the states’ budgetary operating deficit, its yearlong balance of payment deficit, and pension shortfalls.

The deficits can be fixed with bi-partisan action and doing away with all the income tax deductions and exemptions. We should vote only for people with the guts to fix Illinois’ problem instead of just getting re-elected. Most other states don’t have these reductions and exemptions.

The Trump tax cut has put our country into much deeper debt. Instead of paying down our national debt it is exploding during the time we should be cutting it. If we are increasing our debt during good times, what will we do during the upcoming bad times?

Both the state and federal governments need to act responsibly and quit wasting money to get re-elected and increase revenue before it becomes unmanageable. Make the person wanting to represent us explain exactly how they expect to solve the problem whether it is raising taxes, cutting expenses, or something else. Perhaps a thousand word explanation of their personal ideas, without mentioning the other party or anyone in the other party, would help us decide who to vote for. If they can’t tell us, perhaps it’s because they have a dearth of ideas.