How to fix Illinois? Cut spending AND raise taxes AND reform pensions, says study

ALL OF THE ABOVE It's not going to be good news when a report starts out like this: "Illinois has a chronic, structural fiscal problem so huge that it cannot be eliminated by increases in economic growth alone, increases in taxes alone, or—alas—aggressive pension changes alone." The new study from the Institute for Government and Public Affairs is a must-read if you care about the state of our state. It's here.

JOBS Our Top 10 list today is about jobs. Specifically, which ones are in demand around the country and what those jobs pay in Illinois. Click here.

GET DOWN TO BUSINESS Candidates love to say they're going to run government like a business. Peter Creticos of the Institute for Work and the Economy is sick of hearing it, and voters will be better off if they don't fall for it, he writes in an op-ed today.

FLAB You can argue that government can't really be run like a business, but you can't argue that government isn't big business in Illinois. We lead the nation in the number of government bodies that can take tax money from our wallets. Andy Shaw of the Better Government Association has some ideas about getting rid of some of these bureaucracies as lawmakers return to Springfield next week. Read them here.

AD SEASON The only candidate for governor spending any real money on advertising so far is Bruce Rauner. And, man, is he ever spending. We break down the ad and other spending of the five gubernatorial candidates in these charts.

WHO DO YOU LIKE The 2014 election will be a big social media experiment in Illinois. It'll show whether Facebook success is an accurate indicator of potential success at the polls. We've tallied the Facebook likes of the five candidates for governor to see how things are playing out so far. See where they're at here.

FACE-OFF Three of the four candidates appeared this morning at a forum at the Union League Club of Chicago. In case you missed it, we've got video here.

BOOMERS VS. MILLENNIALS Off topic: Cartoonist Scott Stantis' cartoon today asks a pressing question. Are Baby Boomers the Second Greatest Generation or intolerable whiners? Well, that's how we interpret the question. The cartoon is here.

HEADLINES Here are the top news stories in Illinois today:

• 5. The Sun-Times has an updated schedule of the numerous Republican gubernatorial race debates and forums over the next two months. (Chicago Sun-Times)
  4. Democratic State Sen. Mike Frerichs will formally launch his campaign for Illinois treasurer today. (Chicago Sun-Times)
  3. The Daily Herald took a look at which suburban school districts tax the most per student. (Daily Herald)
  2. Opinion: An ominous-sounding university report is a reminder, not a rejection, of pension reform. (Daily Herald)
  1. Kirk Dillard said he would call a truce on job stealing among the Midwest states if he was elected governor. (Daily Herald)