Community Corner

A Yearly Tradition: Horse Trading in Springfield. Plus, the Top 10 Illinois Imports

Reboot Illinois' Matt Dietrich takes a look at the practice of horse trading in Springfield in a weekly video recap.

It’s May, which means this is horse-trading season in Springfield.

Lawmakers have until the General Assembly’s May 31 adjournment to pass a budget, but things are complicated this year. Gov. Pat Quinn is pushing for lawmakers to make the 2011 temporary income tax increase permanent so that next year’s budget can include more tax money. If tax rates fall by 25 percent as scheduled at the end of this year, Quinn has warned that thousands of teachers and police officers will be laid off as state funding for education, public safety and other areas falls sharply.

Reboot Illinois' Matt Dietrich explains the entire situation in Reboot Illinois' weekly video, "Only in Illinois." It's a great way to understand a complicated, yet yearly practice in Illinois government.

Find out what's happening in Tinley Parkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Clearly the horse trading does not involve actual horses, nor are horses one of Illinois' top imports. But beer is.

Yep, beer is one of the top 10 imports in Illinois. We've got the nine other imports included in our list of Illinois' top 10 imports.

Find out what's happening in Tinley Parkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

» This article appears on all Patch Chicago sites. The views expressed in this post are those of Reboot Illinois and do not reflect those of Patch or its editors.

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