I thought that perhaps starting out with "Illinois is #1" would give us all a nice, warm feeling about our state--and that perhaps you might not notice those words hidden within the parentheses that aren't really all that nice and warm.
So what's the problem? It's not like Illinoisans pay the highest tax rates in the nation, or the second-highest property taxes, or among the highest gas prices coast-to-coast...oh, wait.