Joel Kotkin: Illinois is in a competition

[frankenstyrene]

I grew up in Illinois. Joel either doesn't know or won't name the twofold answer to why Illinois is dead: Decades of liberal democrat rule has made it a business-hating police state, and Cook County. Since Illinoisans aren't smart enough to once and for all oust the corruption that's effectively killed them, the state will continue to die.

[ExZonie]

Joel you forgot one other thing: the middle class votes for Republicans. So they aren't wanted in Illinois, just as they are not wanted in California.

[PacRimJim]

He missed one of the most important points:

Cut the size of the public sector—drastically.

Since this is not even recognized in Illinois, the state has no hope. It will become another welfare dependency, like Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.