Illinois is a great place not just to hang out, but to hide out.

It's not quite as bad as an invasion of locusts or killer bees, but Illinois is suffering a serious infestation of unwanted species.

It's bad enough having our own state legislators who spend money they don't have, raise taxes in lame-duck sessions and drive the state into bankruptcy while hardly giving it a second thought.

But now Illinois, and Urbana specifically, have to put up with the presence of legislators who've fled their home states and are hiding out here.

Democratic members of the Wisconsin Senate, according to news reports, are hiding out in Harvard, Ill., located near Rockford. Following that flight, Democratic members of the Indiana House of Representatives fled to Urbana rather than stay and debate legislation they vehemently oppose.

It's not all bad, of course. Illinois residents appreciate the business, and there is something comical about seeing elected officials show themselves for what they really are – fugitives from justice.

However, they have abandoned their official duties and are hiding out here because they aren't happy with last year's election results and literally are refusing to deal with the legislative ramifications of what the voters decided.

These kinds of thing happen from time to time. A few years ago, Texas Democrats fled their state to prevent majority Republicans from passing a new legislative map.

It's the same thing this time for Wisconsin and Indiana legislators. Their political patrons, labor unions in this case, vehemently oppose the legislation under discussion and Democratic legislators are doing what they can to block it. Unfortunately, all they can do is run across the border to block the necessary quorum a law-making body needs to do business.

It's hardly a profile in courage. Desperate people do desperate things. The last thing Illinois needs, however, is more feckless legislators, wherever their state of origin. The Land of Lincoln has more than enough already.