September 17, 2017

Fed-up Illinois legislators head for the exit in big numbers

CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois residents aren't the only ones throwing up their hands at the gridlock and increasingly polarized politics that have defined state government in recent years. More and more, fed-up and frustrated Illinois legislators are heading for the exits.

More than two-dozen legislators have either resigned months into the current session or say they won't seek re-election. They are Democrats and Republicans, rank-and-file moderates and those in leadership posts.

It's an exodus longtime Statehouse observers say is unusual not just for the high number of lawmakers leaving, but for the reasons many legislators are giving. They include frustration with not being able to reach compromises, the stress of the two-year budget impasse, year-round campaigning and a more hostile and vocal public.

Retiring Republican Rep. Steve Andersson says it's "a toxic environment."

liberals are a toxic environment...

Yeah. I feel it when I go to town.

I was sick for days