A new report by U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk adds urgency to the need to bring order to Illinois' fiscal house. The risks to the state's future are too great to do otherwise.

"Financially, no state in the union is worse off than Illinois." So begins a sobering "Report on Illinois Debt" released this week by U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill.

Of course, Illinois' dire financial condition isn't exactly breaking news, but Kirk's report thoroughly documents the extent of the problems facing the state, compares Illinois to surrounding states, and projects what could happen if we can't find the political will to restore fiscal sanity. It's not a pretty picture.

The report comes at an opportune time. The state Legislature is scheduled to begin its fall veto session Oct. 25 in Springfield, where there will be pressure to restore hundreds of millions of dollars in budget cuts even though the state doesn't have the money.

While the state has seen revenue growth due to sharp increases in the personal and corporate income tax rates that took effect this year and some increases in sales-tax revenues resulting from the faltering economic recovery, the tax increases did not balance the budget, as the report points out. Legislative leaders indicated that any new revenue would go toward paying down the state's outstanding bills, but in fact, revenue increases were used to pay for Medicaid and public pensions and not overdue bills. Illinois still has about $8.3 billion in unpaid bills.

The Kirk report identifies trends that it says "threaten the immediate and longer-term financial prosperity of Illinois."

First, "the state and certain municipalities have incurred unmanageable debt obligations" with a budget gap of $13 billion at the start of the year, bonded indebtedness of at least $45 billion, unpaid bills of $8.3 billion and unfunded future obligations of $82.6 billion (pensions and employee health care). "The level of debt means that every household in Illinois owes $28,975 in state and local debt," and even more in Chicago and Cook County. The level of debt has caused a drop in the state's credit rating, which means it costs more for every dollar Illinois borrows at the state and local levels. In fact, Illinois has the highest cost to borrow money of any state.

Second, "Illinois borrows to sustain current spending rather than provide capital for future investment," which it has done for the last decade. Gov. Pat Quinn has repeatedly proposed kicking the can even farther down the road by floating a massive bond issue to pay down the overdue bills, a bad idea.

Third, "Illinois is in the habit of failing to budget for long-term obligations," meaning pensions, retiree health benefits and other obligations. Illinois funds the smallest share of its future liabilities of any state in the nation at 51 percent, far lower than surrounding states. Three of Illinois' pension funds are among the eight worst-funded in the nation.

And fourth, "revenue collections are adversely affected by job and population losses and by a severely diminished housing market." Illinois' population has grown at a much slower rate than all surrounding states except Michigan. The report notes that Illinois lost more than 86,000 taxpayers to neighboring states between 1995 and 2007, which cost the state an estimated $2.7 billion in revenue.

The uncertain fiscal situation and tax increases have affected the state's business climate, making Illinois one of the least attractive states in the nation for business and job growth.

Our political leaders have put Illinois on a "path to insolvency." While Illinois still has many advantages — rail and highway transportation, location, a well-educated population and institutions of higher education, to name a few — failing to deal now with the financial problems will jeopardize the well-being of future citizens of the state. Is that the legacy we want to leave for those who come after? Is anyone in Springfield listening?