Illinois' budget deficit twice as bad as you think

Crain's Chicago Business reports:

llinois' fiscal woes are significantly deeper and more serious than generally realized, with the state facing a $9 billion operating deficit in the fiscal year that begins July 1.

That's the horrific bottom line of a report released late today by researchers at the University of Illinois Institute of Government and Public Affairs, a study that may raise the eyebrows even of Gov. Bruce Rauner, who has been warning of huge financial problems ahead.

The conclusion: The actual deficit is about twice what is commonly reported, with the hole in the current fiscal 2015 budget not $2 billion to $3 billion but $6 billion, and rising to a projected $9 billion in fiscal 2016 and hitting $14 billion by fiscal 2026, assuming no changes in law or spending practices. (Read the report below.)

Yet, Illinois has a balanced budget rule in its' state constitution! The great moments of Blue America.