Singing a sad Springfield song

That drip, drip, drip you’re hearing out of Springfield is the sound of Illinois drowning.

Shall we sing the ways?

‘Up on the Roof’

Over at the Governor’s Mansion, the 44-year-old roof is gasping for life. Water is coming in. Plaster is falling down. Antique furniture has been yanked out of the third-floor Lincoln and Yates bedrooms and stored for safekeeping. Called the “people’s house,” this is the most irresistible metaphor for the neglect and corrosion of our fiscal state.

This week two Republican state reps, Rich Brauer and John Cabello, spoke on the House floor about attending events at the mansion where the upper floor was closed off. Cabello said he was told there were plastic tarps to catch the ceiling that was falling. He said the second-floor balcony was buckled.

“It was sad,” said Cabello.

It’s a sorry state for a building used for 250 events a year by school groups and civic organizations. The space is free of charge.

According to Rep. Brauer, there is money in a $3.7 million appropriation to make repairs, though the administration disputes that. Nobody disputes that this is an emergency that has only gotten more expensive by waiting.

Like every other state problem you can think of.

CONTINUE READING AT SUNTIMES.COM