Times are tough all over, but Illinois seems to be suffering more than most. Now the Illinois Department of Transportation says things are so bad with the state budget that the agency will be rationing road salt this winter. Metro East District Operating Engineer Joe Monroe said today, "salt is our friend" and as a result it's been used "early and often" in storms over the years. But with the price tripled since last winter--to 150 dollars a ton in Northern Illinois--the state will now emphasize plowing instead. Motorists who can are being advised to wait out the storms and be patient for the highways to be cleared. This just sounds like something that happens in Third World countries. But then again, News4 has recently reported about thieves stealing so much copper wiring from overhead lights along I-64 that the state has stopped replacing it. The roads will stay dark. It's just too expensive. The state has also stopped picking up dead animals along its highways--too costly. Maybe the economy is worse than we realized. Maybe we should start facing that reality.

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