New Jersey, California, New York, Texas and Illinois face a hundred billion plus deficit when it comes to paying for the benefits other than pensions promised to state retirees.

We elect governors, mayors, state legislators, members of Congress and others to solve basic problems, but their hands are tied by public sector union bosses who control the machinery of government.

First-installment tax bills mailed last week listed Chicago’s unfunded health care and pension debt as $37.2 million. The actual unfunded pension liability of the city is $37.2 billion.

Late last month, state Rep. Justin Slaughter, D-Chicago, filed House Bill 4603 that would prohibit police from pulling over vehicles that speed, improperly change lanes, have excessive tint, no seatbelts and a variety of other violations. While he’s told media outlets he won’t advance the bill, Slaughter said it’s a conversation starter.

Cook County’s jailed population has shrunk by more than half over the past decade, but the massive reduction hasn’t led to big savings for taxpayers or a major boost in funding for crime prevention, a WBEZ analysis of county budget records has found.

O’Hare International Airport no longer has migrant encampments for the first time since families began sleeping there last summer, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration said Thursday as uncertainty remains over how he will handle the ongoing crisis when city funds for asylum seekers are expected to run out in a couple months.

The Hanover Park Park District will ask voters on March 19 to approve a tax hike for the first time in its 60-year history to replace the original 48-year-old fabric roofs over two wings of its Community Center.

Two Chicago art students started out making frog costumes for a horror movie premier. Now they are knee-deep in making mascot costumes including Smokey Bear.