Wheeling Township voters will have a chance to weigh in on Illinois state lawmakers imposing unfunded mandates. After the April 1 election, nearly 650,000 Illinoisans’ concerns will have been represented by votes on some of the state’s most pressing issues.
Government unions posed threats to public welfare that were recognized by founders of the labor movement and by progressive icon Franklin D. Roosevelt. Those threats have become reality, with government union power dominating – especially in Illinois.
The first three years of elementary school are critical in building reading skills so a student succeeds in school and life. Illinois lawmakers can push five proven literacy reforms to give the state’s students a better start.
Palatine Township voters will take up some of the state’s most urgent issues at the April 1 election, telling state lawmakers where they stand on public pensions and unfunded state mandates.
Job growth was healthy across the nation in November with a gain of 227,000. Illinois’ metropolitan areas lost 3,400, with Peoria losing at the fastest rate.
New Years’ Day means hundreds of new laws on the books, including one allowing residents to get a digital version of their driver’s license.
Nearly 9 in 10 of the Illinois job losses announced in November resulted from businesses closing. Chicago led the state for layoffs, followed by Rockford.
Chicago gang crime declined to its lowest level in the past two decades in 2023, but the numbers may be more about gangs fracturing and police losing their gang database. Still, more than 1-in-5 homicides were suspected of being gang related.
After getting his start in the Cabrini Green public housing development, Joel Hamernick has spent 30 years working with gangs and neighborhood groups to prevent gun violence in Chicago. “About 20 years ago, the gangs in Chicago had a strong governmental hierarchy and a lot more structure. But today, almost none of that structure remains.”...
Illinois House Bill 5896 would require more detailed reporting of how Springfield spends taxpayer money. It improves transparency, which is a step toward fiscal restraint.
Voters in Lemont Township are taking up the pension crisis, gerrymandering and unfunded mandates. The township voted to put three questions on the April 1 ballot to let state leaders know they expect progress on the issues.
Chicago Transit Authority Green Line riders were the most likely to be crime victims for the 12 months ending in September. The most dangerous CTA stop had nearly 7 crimes per 100,000 riders compared to 1.3 systemwide.