Credit union offers interest-free loans to Illinois lawmakers during pay freeze
Credit union offers interest-free loans to Illinois lawmakers during pay freeze
Illinois lawmakers stopped getting paid on Thursday. So did Gov. Pat Quinn, who on July 10 used his line-item veto power to halt lawmaker pay until the General Assembly reaches an agreement on pension reform. But a Rantoul-based credit union has come to their aid, offering interest-free loans to state legislators. According to the State Journal-Register,...
By Hilary Gowins
400 Illinoisans receive notice of impending layoffs
400 Illinoisans receive notice of impending layoffs
At the end of July, about 400 Illinois workers were notified that they might be losing their jobs in the next few weeks. Filings with the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity highlighted this number, which includes cuts at major companies throughout the state. According to the Chicago Tribune: Lake Forest-based Grainger Inc. said it...
By Hilary Gowins
Chicago’s dire finances highlight the city’s union problem
Chicago’s dire finances highlight the city’s union problem
About a year ago, the city of Chicago released its 2012 Annual Financial Analysis. Back then I noted that many of the city’s challenges, especially high employee costs and growing pension debt, were aggravated by a heavily unionized workforce. With a new year comes newer, more disturbing financial figures – and the same old union problem...
Chicago needs more than small gestures for small business
Chicago needs more than small gestures for small business
This week, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office issued a press release boasting of steps the city has taken to make it easier and faster for small businesses to get city licenses. According to the statement, visitors to the city’s Small Business Center can now take advantage of an express lane, a self-service station and additional “customer service”...
Nearly 22 million Americans remain unemployed or underemployed.
Nearly 22 million Americans remain unemployed or underemployed.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced today that the national unemployment rate dropped to 7.4 percent in July from 7.6 percent in June. The number of unemployed persons dropped by 263,000 to 11.5 million. Over the course of the year, unemployment and the unemployment rate are down by 1.2 million and 0.8 percentage points,...
Chicago’s budget woes
Chicago’s budget woes
Chicago officials are reviewing the state of the city’s finances in preparation for a months-long budgeting process – and the numbers aren’t pretty. The city of Chicago released today its 2013 Annual Financial Analysis. As this document reveals, growing debt payments and unfunded pension liabilities continue to push the city’s budget into the red. As this...
By Benjamin VanMetre
Gov. Quinn announces $54.8 million investment in private universities
Gov. Quinn announces $54.8 million investment in private universities
Illinois can’t pay its bills. Lawmakers continue to eat away at the Illinois family budget with higher taxes. And the state refuses to stop ballooning pension payments from crowding out core government services. Yet Gov. Pat Quinn announced that Illinois will invest $54.8 million 27 private colleges and universities in the Chicago area. Some of this spending...
By Benjamin VanMetre
Three things you need to know about Chicago’s budget
Three things you need to know about Chicago’s budget
Chicago officials are reviewing the state of the city’s finances in preparation for a months-long budgeting process – and the numbers aren’t pretty. The city of Chicago released today its 2013 Annual Financial Analysis. As this document reveals, growing debt payments and unfunded pension liabilities continue to push the city’s budget into the red. As this...
By Benjamin VanMetre
Union workers more likely to resist new technology
Union workers more likely to resist new technology
Not all workers view technological innovation the same way. Earlier this week, the Tech Crunch blog, which covers trends in information technology businesses, examined how different types of workers view technological innovation. New technology has always had the ability to upend the workplace, and tech workers themselves are not immune. But tech workers are much more...
By Paul Kersey
More than 100,000 Medicaid enrollees found ineligible for the program
More than 100,000 Medicaid enrollees found ineligible for the program
by Jonathan Ingram Illinois law has long required that the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, or HFS, perform annual eligibility checks to ensure that those receiving Medicaid benefits were actually eligible for the program. After years of HFS failing to adequately perform these annual eligibility checks, lawmakers enacted 305 ILCS 5/11-5.2, which allowed...
June unemployment: More than 1 million Illinoisans unemployed or underemployed
June unemployment: More than 1 million Illinoisans unemployed or underemployed
by John Klingner President Barack Obama visited to Galesburg last week to give a speech in which he said he would refocus on jobs and the economy. That’s little comfort for the unemployed workers in cities across Illinois. The economic policies the president wishes to enact at the federal level have been at work for...
For real reform, Illinois should repeal campaign contribution limits
For real reform, Illinois should repeal campaign contribution limits
Illinois’ limits on campaign contributions are anticompetitive and unconstitutional – and the bill Gov. Pat Quinn just signed enacting sweeping changes to the state’s election code only makes the system more arbitrary and unfair. The biggest problem with Illinois’ existing campaign finance law is that it limits how much money a person can give to candidates for state office...
Betting on Illinois: Pizza with a Purpose
Betting on Illinois: Pizza with a Purpose
Dimitri Syrkin-Nikolau doesn’t just make pizza. Through his Chicagobased business, Dimos Pizza, he also cultivates talented employees. He opens his doors to local schools. He helps foster enthusiasm and excitement within his community. That’s because, to Syrkin-Nikolau, business isn’t just about making money. He believes it’s about what he calls “purposeful profit.” “Ultimately, profit is...
By Hilary Gowins
Illinois taxpayer contributions to state pensions skyrocket
Illinois taxpayer contributions to state pensions skyrocket
Detroit’s recent bankruptcy is sending cities and states a warning: taxpayers shouldn’t be taken for granted. Unfortunately, Illinois’ long-term pension plan does exactly that. Springfield still believes that taxpayers are passive sources of revenue. While state worker contributions to Illinois’ five pension systems have gone up by 75 percent since 1998, taxpayer contributions have gone...
By John Klingner