Back from the brink

Illinois voters will face an important decision in the upcoming statewide election. Though it is well known that Illinois is in dire financial trouble, will the tax-andspend political party responsible for it be held accountable? So many areas of state problems currently exist that only one will be discussed here: the exorbitant cost of the state’s higher education system, seemingly due to inefficiencies, bloated salaries and an expensive pension system.

Two of my grandchildren are seniors this year at large suburban high schools, and though both are excellent students ranking near the top in their class standings, neither is considering applying to the University of Illinois. The grandson just had an older sister graduate from the U. of I., and his parents — my daughter and her husband, both graduates of Illinois state universities — do not believe the cost was worth it.

The granddaughter is also looking at out-of-state schools, though her mom and dad are both U. of I. College of Engineering graduates. And why not? Nearby out-ofstate universities offer quality educations for less than the U. of I. In an effort to be “a national university,” the U. of I. has seemed to show deference to out-of-state and outof-country students, most of whom will not remain in our state after graduation. Someone once famously said that perception is reality, and the perception among our grandchildren, many of their peers and their peers’ parents is that things are better elsewhere. And so the Illinois “brain drain” continues.

One of our sons is an emergency room physician and is now living with his family out of state, never to return. When a seriously ill or critically injured patient in his ER doesn’t respond to medical emergency resuscitation procedures, the patient is said to be “CTD,” circling the drain. Will Illinois voters continue to elect politicians who will keep the state of Illinois CTD?