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Illinois in the New MillenniumPolitics & EconomicsGeorge W. Bush was elected President in the 2000 election in a very close and controversial vote that was not decided until a month after election day. Democrat Al Gore won the popular vote by several hundred thousand, but the election was so close in the electoral college that the outcome of the race depended on the returns from Florida. Democrats alleged that some counties in Florida had confusing ballots and that many votes had not been properly counted. Further, the contested counties had a high population of black voters who historically had voted Democrat. Since the Florida election had ended in a virtual tie, the Democrats wanted a recount in some counties. However, deadlines mandated by election laws apparently did not leave enough time for recounts. The Florida secretary of state certified the election and named Bush the winner. Democrats appealed to the Florida Supreme Court, whose members favored a recount. Republicans took the case to the United States Supreme Court, whose majority ruled that Florida election laws should be followed. Florida�s returns were allowed to stand, and Bush became the new president. During the 1999 legislative session, the legislature, at the urging of Governor George Ryan, passed an ambitious $12 billion program to enhance the state's infrastructure in future years. This program was known as Illinois First. Projects under this program include improvements to highways, bridges, schools, mass transit, water and sewer lines, parks and recreation facilities, fire and police equipment and community centers for senior and youth programs. A economic recession hit the United States during 2001 and 2002. The recession also affected the Illinois economy, as overall civilian employment fell. Layoffs were common among technology and manufacturing companies. Air traffic declined forcing many airlines lay off workers. In 2002, for the first time in 47 years, state government tax revenues declined compared to the previous fiscal year. The total budget shortfall for the year was $2 billion and forced the state government to take drastic measures to balance state spending and revenues. The revenue losses forced cuts that threatened to reverse much of the progress state government had made since 1999 in the Illinois First program. Working with the General Assembly, Governor George Ryan was able to reduce spending without substantially affecting the programs enacted earlier. Governor George Ryan decided not to seek reelection in 2002, as his approval ratings with voters plummeted due to corruption in the Secretary of State's office involving bribes for issuing driver's licenses. One of his final acts of governor was a controversial decision to commute the death sentences of all death row inmates in Illinois. Democrat Rod Blagojevich was elected Governor in the 2002 election. Blagojevich began his term with a budget crisis because of a $5 billion state deficit in revenues. He worked with the legislature to pass a budget that reduced the deficit without raising sales or income taxes. In 2006, a number of former political officials were convicted of crimes committed while in office. Former Secretary of State and Governor George Ryan was convicted of racketeering and bribery. Former U.S. Congressman Dan Rostenkowski was imprisoned for mail fraud. Former Governor and federal judge Otto Kerner, Jr. was imprisoned for bribery. Former State Auditor Orville Hodge was imprisoned for embezzlement. Democrat Barack Obama became a rising political star in the state when, as a state senator, he was selected to give the keynote address at the Democratic Presidential convention in 2004. He was then elected to the U.S. Senate in the 2004 election, defeating former Republican Governor George Ryan. Obama entered the 2008 presidential race and was selected the Democratic nominee for President. He defeated the Republican candidate, John McCain, in the general election to become the 44th President. Obama was the first African-American elected President. Following the presidential election, Governor Rod Blagojevich was indicted for acts of public corruption that included trying to sell Barack Obama's vacated Senate seat. He was impeached by the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate voted on January 29, 2009, to remove him from office. Lieutenant Governor Patrick Quinn replaced Blagojevich as governor. Towards the end of 2007 a mortgage crisis threatened the financial services industry. Because thousands of mortgages had been sold to unqualified buyers the secondary market for mortgages collapsed, housing prices fell and banks were faced with billions in loans that could not be collected. Major banks and other financial services companies faced insolvency and thousands of families faced foreclosure. The United States government stepped in to provide billions in financing for the largest banks and financial services companies while many other companies were forced into bankruptcy. The crisis caused consumer spending to collapse in 2008 and all sectors of business were faced with declining sales and revenue. As a result many business were forced to lay off workers and the economy was further weakened. Particularly hard hit were the major domestic automakers. General Motors required billions in government money to survive and Chrysler was sold to the Italian automaker FIAT. In 2009 the U.S. Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which provided almost $800 billion dollars in funds to help strengthen the economy.
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