Missouri treasurer to legislature: Don't be like Illinois

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Missouri State Treasurer Eric Schmitt on Tuesday offered strong criticism of the state budget — of another state.

The first-term Republican spoke at a news conference along the Mississippi River in St. Louis, urging Missouri lawmakers to avoid the pitfalls that have befallen neighboring Illinois.

"My message to the (Missouri) legislature is crystal clear: Don't be like Illinois," Schmitt said.

The Democrat-controlled Illinois Legislature last week approved a $36 billion budget that ended a more than two-year fiscal stalemate, the nation's longest since the Great Depression. Lawmakers overrode Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner's vetoes to pass the budget that includes a $5 billion income tax increase but that does not address a $130 billion shortfall in pension obligations to retired and current state workers.

Read more: http://www.lmtonline.com/news/article/Missouri-treasurer-Don-t-be-like-Illinois-11280291.php