The Breaking Point?

John Kass's modest proposal for the dissolution of Illinois: Carve up the failed state and let the rest of the Midwest have it.
(Ryan Marx)

From the Chicago Tribune comes this satire by John Kass (dated June 20, 2017):

Illinois is like Venezuela now, a fiscally broken state that has lost its will to live, although for the moment, we still have enough toilet paper.

But before we run out of the essentials, let's finally admit that after decade upon decade of taxing and spending and borrowing, Illinois has finally run out of other people's money.

Those "other people" include taxpayers who've abandoned the state. And now Illinois faces doomsday.

[...]

The best thing to do is to break Illinois into pieces right now. Just wipe us off the map. Cut us out of America's heartland and let neighboring states carve us up and take the best chunks for themselves.

The group that will scream the loudest is the state's political class, who did this to us, and the big bond creditors, who are whispering talk of bankruptcy and asset forfeiture to save their own skins.

[...]

The alternative is hell. Illinois hasn't had a state budget for years. The state continues to spend money it doesn't have, and the state's credit ratings have dropped, increasing the cost of borrowing more money we don't have to keep the rotten shebang going....

Read the rest HERE.

Comments are interesting, too; those comments run all along the socio-political spectrum.

One commenter opined:

Between the crooked Madigans, Dalys, and now stubby Rahm...we are being robbed right in our faces daily. We have no checks and balances from the crooked mayor and aldermen because they themselves are paid for.

High crimes from the thug blacks who have daily shooting contests and nothing is done about that. A state that is giving "OUR" money to illegals while REAL Americans struggle to keep their house or apartments, pay their bills, keep food on the tables, oh and BTW keep their jobs and pay. The list goes on but nothing gets done. The Feds know that every politician is corrupt yet they do knowing. For those lucky enough to be able to leave(running) from this shit hole we used to love and sell their homes, the others have to continue enduring this crime. The continued rise in all types of taxes so that they can pocket that money also.

Yes, Kass's essay is satire.

For the moment.

Seriously, though, can a state within the United States go belly up and dissolve?

If a state cannot dissolve, what is such a bankrupt state supposed to do when the breaking point arrives, as it surely will?

Are any other member states of the United States approaching the same financial precipice as that of Illinois? 

And does the nation as a whole have any responsibility to rescue a bankrupt member state?

Additional reading: The man behind the fiscal fiasco in Illinois (Reuters, February 8, 2017) and Could Illinois be the first state to file for bankruptcy? (CBS Money Watch, June 16, 2017).