* The lede for the latest Bloomington Pantagraph editorial…

It’s well documented that Illinois is technically bankrupt.

Illinois is neither technically nor legally bankrupt. It’s not even figuratively bankrupt. Bankruptcy is reserved for individuals and corporations that have no hope of increasing revenues to pay off their bills. Illinois is far from that point. Very far. Also, Illinois cannot legally declare bankruptcy.

Yes, the state has a huge backlog of bills, but the Pantagraph and other editorial boards have made sure that a solution couldn’t be implemented for that problem. Yes, the state has a large unfunded pension program, but as I’ve written before, we ought to consider abandoning this notion that it must be permanently 90 percent funded when there’s no need to always have anywhere close to that much cash on hand. Yes, the state has a large number of bonds, but most of those bonds have identifiable funding streams.

So, enough with the stupidity, please.

Editorial commentary like that makes me want to demand that the General Assembly get rid of the sales tax exemptions on newsprint and ink.

Come to think of it, yesterday’s report on how Illinois doesn’t connect tax incentives to job benefit requirements fits right in with that idea. You’d be hard-pressed to find an industry that has laid off a higher percentage of its workforce than print media over the past five years, or has stripped them of more benefits.

…Adding… From a commenter…

you’d think the Pantagraph opinion writers would be a little more knowledgeable about bancruptcy, given that they fit the technical and legal definition:

The link…

The owner of the Pantagraph and dozens of other newspapers announced Friday that it plans to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to complete a comprehensive debt refinancing plan.

Indeed.

* Meanwhile, check out this fascinating poll from California…

A new poll shows 60 percent of California voters, weary of state spending cuts and unsettled by the prospect of more, are ready to support Gov. Jerry Brown’s plan to raise taxes.

The Public Policy Institute of California poll, released Monday, is the first public measure of voter opinion about Brown’s tax initiative since he announced it this month.

Brown plans to ask voters in November 2012 to temporarily increase the state sales tax and to impose higher income taxes on California’s highest-earners, raising $7 billion annually for five years.

The poll comes amid deep pessimism about the economy and concern about the state budget. More than 80 percent of likely voters think the budget situation is a big problem, and more than two-thirds of likely voters predict bad times financially in the year ahead.

Gov. Brown made huge budget cuts which brutally showed Californians what life is like without the proper revenue streams to fund the services that most everybody wants. There was some thought of doing that here back in 2009. The consequences would’ve been awful in the short term, but Illinoisans might’ve eventually realized that they have to pay for what they ask for.

* And then there’s this…

College Illinois!, which was started in 1998, is supposed to let families lock in today’s tuition rates for their children’s college educations at state universities in future years. But according to the report, the prepaid tuition program could require a $1.6 billion bailout from the state to remain solvent during the next 25 years.

The state hasn’t promised to come up with the money, but it must. Illinois simply can’t stick families with the bill. This is a problem created by the state, and it’s up to the state to solve it.

The families that bought into this program, often with an eye toward sending their son or daughter some day to the likes of University of Illinois or Illinois State University, are generally not folks with enough money to envision sending their offspring to pricey private schools. They had to put cash into the program at the same time they were trying to pay for everything from piano lessons to the mortgage.

If the state doesn’t deliver on its end of the bargain, they’ll be in trouble.

The Illinois Student Assistance Commission, which runs the program, has been criticized for slow sales and its investment decisions. The program’s underfunding rose from 7 percent in 2007 to 18 percent last May. As of March, the commission had 54,275 prepaid tuition contracts, but it stopped selling new contracts on Sept. 30 while it sorts everything out.

While a serious problem, the math shows it’s not quite the disaster that the media is claiming.

The fund needs $1.6 billion over 25 years. Without compound interest, that’s $64 million a year. The fund has 54,275 participants, so that works out to less than $118 per year, per contract, or less than $10 a month. Again, that’s without the magic of compound interest. A very modest fee increase coupled with perhaps an order to Illinois universities to accept what the program gives them, along with some much-needed internal reforms could wipe out that problem quite easily.

* Related…

* Chicago Tribune subscriber sues over rate hike: Cheryl Naedler, whose subscription rate more than doubled to $97.50 per quarter this year, contends in the lawsuit that her credit card and those of other subscribers were charged without their knowledge or consent of the increased price.

* Editorial: Fill void left by loss of legal fund

* Editorial: Time to limit legislative session

* Charter-school agency’s funding raises questions - A new Illinois commission can authorize charter schools rejected by local officials. Its money comes from a foundation that backs charter schools.

* Mental Health Advocates Call Emanuel A Grinch