Illinois is unprepared for the next recession
Illinois is unprepared for the next recession
Sky-high debt and a meager rainy day fund make Illinois the second-least prepared state in the U.S. for its capacity to weather a recession.
The “Working Class”
The “Working Class”
GE rejects Chicago as home for corporate headquarters, cites pension debt
GE rejects Chicago as home for corporate headquarters, cites pension debt
General Electric will move its corporate headquarters and 800 jobs to Boston, Mass., from Fairfield, Conn., noting its concerns about Chicago’s government-worker pension debt in its rejection of the Windy City.
Illinois taxpayers will pay steep penalty rate in $500M bond issuance
Illinois taxpayers will pay steep penalty rate in $500M bond issuance
Illinois has the lowest credit rating among the 50 states, forcing taxpayers to pay hundreds of millions of dollars more in borrowing costs than residents of states in better fiscal condition.
AFSCME worker salaries grew 5 times faster than Illinois worker earnings from 2005-2014
AFSCME worker salaries grew 5 times faster than Illinois worker earnings from 2005-2014
Illinois could have saved a cumulative $3.5 billion had AFSCME salaries simply grown at the rate of inflation since 2004.
Illinois’ budget from the inside: A conversation with State Budget Director Tim Nuding
Illinois’ budget from the inside: A conversation with State Budget Director Tim Nuding
Donna Arduin is an Illinois Policy Institute senior fellow and a partner at Arduin, Laffer & Moore Econometrics, a group that advises federal, state and municipal leaders, as well as political candidates and private-sector clients, on economic, fiscal and state policies.
Illinois gambling racket
Illinois gambling racket
Supreme Court to hear arguments on forced union fees
Supreme Court to hear arguments on forced union fees
On Jan. 11, lawyers for the plaintiffs in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association will argue before the U.S. Supreme Court that the First Amendment prohibits the government from forcing its employees to pay union fees.
Illinois ended 2015 down 14,500 manufacturing jobs, closing in on an all-time low for factory work
Illinois ended 2015 down 14,500 manufacturing jobs, closing in on an all-time low for factory work
Illinois’ manufacturing job losses accelerated in 2015, while most neighboring and Great Lakes states continued to post gains in factory jobs.
Jim Andersen
Jim Andersen
AFSCME's demands would cost Illinois taxpayers an additional $3 billion over the course of the contract.
Illinois to issue $500M in bonds, continues to pay highest borrowing rate of all 50 states
Illinois to issue $500M in bonds, continues to pay highest borrowing rate of all 50 states
Illinois’ monthslong budget gridlock, $111 billion in government-worker pension debt, and more than a decade of unbalanced budgets have resulted in credit downgrades for Illinois and the highest borrowing costs of any state in the nation.
AFSCME: Rauner has declared impasse in contract negotiations
AFSCME: Rauner has declared impasse in contract negotiations
Without a strike fund, AFSCME – which represents 60,000 state workers in Illinois – has avoided a strike. But since the union announced that the governor has walked way from contract talks, a strike could be on the horizon.
New year, outta here: Another Illinois manufacturer seeks refuge in Indiana
New year, outta here: Another Illinois manufacturer seeks refuge in Indiana
Enjoy Life Foods plans to move its lone Illinois manufacturing facility and up to 150 jobs to southern Indiana this year.