Illinois state legislators raised the state income tax from 3 percent to 5 percent, a 66 percent hike. In plain terms, if you owed the Illinois government $1,000 last year, this year you would owe $1,666. Democratic legislators worked to pass the tax increase in a last minute effort to minimize the $15 billion deficit, before republican legislators gain control.

The Land of Lincoln is not the only state with budget woes. As many as 30 states are facing debt serious enough to consider default. California is looking at $25 billion in red ink. But is it really as bad as it sounds? Steve Chiotakis spoke to Wall Street Journal columnist Brett Arend, who says the situation in California isn’t as dire as everyone claims.

Finally, it’s been one year since a 7.0 earthquake rocked Port-au-Prince, Haiti, killing an estimated 300,000 people and injuring thousands more. Steve Chiotakis spoke with Tracy Wilkinson from the Los Angeles Times about how Haiti’s economy is faring in the aftermath. View our photo gallery of Haiti — One year later.