With restaurant and bar owners in Illinois already going broke or busted, and winter coming and outdoor dining not an option, Governor J.B. Pritzker declared the suspension of indoor dining and bar service and strict rules for gatherings in regions throughout the state.
TREND FORECAST: The Sun-Times reported that Pritzker’s office has received blowback from businesses who say another round of shutdowns means a “death sentence” for businesses.
Spiro Roumpas, a restaurant owner in the state, called the new restrictions a “gut punch.”
“COVID is a tragedy. One life lost is a tragedy,” Roumpas told the paper. “In the meantime, we have followed all the guidelines that the governor set out. And the guidelines we have to abide by in normal times make us more sanitary than most places, way more than gas stations or big box stores.”
Thus, we forecast, as economies sink deeper into debt and hardship spreads among the masses, as with many nation states and cities across the globe, there will be increasing protests and sharp spikes in crime and violence.
And as with other densely populated cities, commercial real estate values will fall and more people who can afford to and are able to work remotely will escape to “safe haven” suburbs and ex-urban areas.
TREND FORECAST: As Illinois’ economy goes down, its unmanageable debt level will grow higher, pushing the state toward levels of default:
“Despite passing a record income tax hike in 2017, Illinois’ pension health remains the nation’s worst, according to one of the world’s leading credit rating agencies.
A new report from Moody’s Investors Service shows in fiscal year 2018, Illinois’ unfunded pension liability stood at nearly $241 billion, leaving each Illinoisan on the hook for $18,896 in pension debt.
These findings follow Illinois Policy Institute research, which has found Illinois’ pension debt has continued to balloon since 2011 after an income tax hike that year and another in 2017.” – Illinois Policy
As we have forecast, anti-tax, anti-vax, and anti-establishment will be new platforms for new third-party movements.