Public bodies in Illinois rarely let taxpayers see proposed contracts before a vote – but local officials certainly don’t mind sticking taxpayers with the bill afterward.
The start of a new year always comes with resolutions for improvement, but only time will tell if they translate into effective action.
Simple logic. Respect for rights. These are things Illinoisans are not used to seeing from their state government, so perhaps it’s understandable that some are having trouble understanding what Rauner has done and why he has done it.
The five major government unions in Illinois spent a combined $46 million in political campaigns from 2002 to 2014.
State workers’ health-insurance benefits make up $3 billion of the state’s budget.
Big spending at hotels, holiday parties and retirement events is financed by forced dues.
The cost of debt service in fiscal year 2015 is nearly $4 billion, 11 percent of Illinois' anticipated revenues.
Illinois’ biggest public-sector unions fail to meet the standard for nonprofits.
In 2013, SEIU Healthcare Illinois-Indiana spent a total of $1.5 million on such things as hotels, air travel, rental cars, and restaurants and catering. These “extras” represent the money of 3,092 members and nonmembers, or 3.3 percent of the union’s total membership.
Are you a state worker in Illinois who’s tired of being forced to give part of every paycheck to a government union you don’t support?