Even though the state of Illinois finally has a budget, its financial problems are far from over. That'll be the topic Tuesday night in the Quad Cities for a public forum, "The State Budget: The Challenges Ahead."
It'll be one of 11 forums this year sponsored by the AARP and the state's public radio stations, including WVIK. Seven have been held so far.
Sean Crawford, news director for WUIS Radio in Springfield, says one of the most common comments at the forums so far is about people's mis-trust of state government.
"There's just a lot of people out there who are not happy with their government, they're not happy with either political party right now, and they feel the state is in a fiscal mess and they realize this is impacting everybody."
Some attendees are upset the Illinois income tax has gone up, while others say it might need to go up even higher. And there's been a lot of concern, especially in college towns, about the state's falling support for higher education.
Doors open at 5 pm Tuesday at City View Celebrations at Trimble Point in Moline, with the forum from 5:30 to 7. Videos of past forums are available on the WUIS website, under Illinois Issues Forums.
