Letter from AFP member Rob Zastany Chicago Tribune:

What is wrong with Illinois? As a voter, taxpayer, and member of Americans for Prosperity, I am appalled by the fiscal irresponsibility from our elected officials in Springfield. If the "pay-to-play" of the Blagojevich era wasn't enough, we find that it continues today. The much needed capital spending bill was polluted with pork for politically connected campaign donors.

Rather than make the hard choices to balance our state budget, Illinois lawmakers do nothing. Maybe they hope we will stop paying attention so they can get back to business as usual? Worse yet, maybe they are hoping the fiscal crisis will provide political cover so they can approve massive tax increases? If that is the case, our current state unemployment rate of 10.3 percent will grow to even worse record highs as businesses and taxpayers abandon Illinois.