New York's fiscal crisis is a cautionary tale for Illinois and its largest city. But with legislators meeting in Springfield, all eyes are on state government and its predicament: If a mighty American city, the global capital of capitalism, could be brought low by debt, so could an American state. New York survived, of course, and therein lies an intriguing lesson for sinking Illinois: When the reckoning came, New York's leaders accepted responsibility and toughed out an onerous recovery plan. Crucially, they committed never to repeat the mistakes of profligacy. New York changed its culture of government spending.