Small Business Saturday offers a reason to be extra thankful: businesses with fewer than 20 employees have been the only ones to grow payrolls since COVID-19 hit.
They call it “inclusionary zoning,” but in reality the government mandate for a portion of developments to be “affordable” limits supply and drives up costs. Chicago should pull back from this form of rent control.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson wanted a $300 million property tax hike for his big budget. All 50 aldermen said “no.” So then he asked for $150 million and a 35% tax on liquor. Johnson fails to admit it’s not about taxes, it’s about making changes.
Elk Grove Village Mayor Craig Johnson said state lawmakers need to step in and help fix public pensions. Pension debt is the biggest driver of Illinois’ property taxes, which are the second-highest in the nation.
The American Federation of Teachers’ recent federal filing showed just 36% of the national union’s spending was on representing teachers. More than two-thirds of its own employees made six-figure salaries.
A new Cook County state’s attorney inherits crime problems aggravated by her predecessor, Kim Foxx. Eileen O’Neill Burke seems ready to fight crime without abandoning efforts to be fair to minority defendants. Here’s what she should do.
The Illinois Education Association is the largest statewide teachers union in Illinois. But less than 15% of its in spending in 2024 was on representing its members – which could be why nearly 5,000 education employees have left the union.
The Chicago Teachers Union is pushing to expand the 20 “sustainable community schools” in the district. But the model doesn’t work: fewer students are proficient, absenteeism is higher.
Over 1 million Illinois families will put turkey on the table this Thanksgiving with the help of federal food assistance, including more than half of the households in Pulaski and Alexander counties.
Residents in Central Illinois are feeling sticker shock from exponential property tax growth. One woman’s $756 property tax bill is skyrocketing to $10,000 in one year.
Nearly half of the Illinois job losses in October resulted from True Value Co. declaring bankruptcy. Chicago led the state for jobs lost.
Chicago’s 2025 budget has a nearly $1 billion hole. Mayor Brandon Johnson has only proposed tax hikes. But when personnel eats over two-thirds of the budget, the city must be smart about freezes and cuts without making public safety even worse.
The Chicago Teachers Union wails about schools closing, but it is the union’s actions that have been solely responsible for past school closings and for the conditions that will lead to more closures in the future.