Nero is tuning up band in Springfield

JOSEPH M. LOETE had this letter published in the October 24 Quad-City Times and October 27 Dispatch/Argus. "As a lifelong resident of Illinois, I can only express my profound disappointment and embarrassment at the current state of affairs. Beyond the long-term fiscal and social ills that plague this state ($100 billion or more in pension payments deferred), it has become almost more than one can bear that the elected leadership cannot even pass a budget for a single year. Instead, mired in the muck of corruption, gridlock and apathy, Illinois soldiers on, moving toward the inevitable end as the first state to fail. ..... It has become evident that the people of my home state have lost hope in effective leadership. I wonder if the collective "we" in Illinois possess the political will to try and effect change for the better. Change will not be pleasant, it is going to be painful and the truth of the matter is that not everyone is going to get everything they want or even need. Instead, it is going to take very tough choices, tax increases and cuts to services, which neither side of the aisle seems willing to acknowledge. Neither side is pitching the entire solution, just a portion of it, in hopes of staying in Springfield one more term. While beginning the marathon that is the election process, more of the same seems to be on the menu in large portions. ..... The current leadership has abandoned its responsibility to govern. The neediest among us are suffering, bills are not being paid on time (or at all) and we are watching our state suffocate from ineptitude. It is time that the collective "we" focus on demanding and receiving effective leadership. Otherwise, when ("if" has left the station) this state goes completely downhill, we have no one to blame but ourselves."