Politicians are celebrating their pension “fix” for the city of Chicago. But their plan is nothing more than a massive property tax hike – it increases city contributions by $4 billion through 2025. More importantly, it doesn’t solve the pension problem. Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s pension plan does nothing to improve the retirement security of city...
In a ruling that has already sent shockwaves through public education, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Rolf Treu found in Vergara v. California that five California laws governing the hiring, firing and laying off of teachers – laws that teachers unions favor – violated the California Constitution’s equal protection clause, and should be struck...
Illinois recorded the second-worst growth in gross domestic product of any state in the Midwest, according to this week’s release from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The Illinois economy grew by just 0.9 percent in 2013. Only Missouri grew slower, at a sluggish 0.8 percent. The state’s growth ranks near the bottom nationally as well....
The Chicago Tribune recently reported on the links between the Service Employees International Union, or SEIU, and various community organizing groups behind the campaign to increase Chicago’s minimum wage to $15 per hour. In her story, reporter Alejandro Cancino found that SEIU and its affiliates had spent at least $2 million on a campaign to organize...
These new rules are hitting drivers hard, and limiting their ability to make a living.
Politicians are waiting for Gov. Pat Quinn to approve their state budget, and many are complaining that the budget isn’t balanced. “The effect of the budget is to delay doomsday by borrowing and increasing our backlog of bills,” said a spokeswoman for Senate President John Cullerton. “Admittedly, this budget reverses some of the progress that...
A federal jury has found state Rep. Derrick Smith, D-Chicago, guilty of taking a $7,000 cash bribe in exchange for writing a state grant recommendation letter in 2012. Under state law, Smith automatically loses his office with the felony bribery conviction. This is the second time Smith has lost his office. Smith was originally expelled from...
Illinois Policy Action is announcing an initiative to help hold legislators accountable to their word following the three major state income tax defeats during the spring session. We will be asking all House and Senate members to sign our “Keep Your Promise” pledge, which will affirm politicians’ stated opposition to keeping permanent the temporary 5...
When Gov. Pat Quinn’s campaign spokesperson, Brooke Anderson, joined host Mike Flannery on Fox Chicago on June 8, she claimed: “Unemployment is at its lowest point in more than five years. More people are working in Illinois today than when the governor took office.” But that’s simply not true. While the unemployment rate in Illinois...
Chicagoans could be on the brink of a cell-phone tax hike. Gov. Pat Quinn has signed into law an amendment to House Bill 2453, which gives the city of Chicago the authority to raise the city’s per-line 911 fee to $3.90 from the current fee of $2.50. Chicago cell-phone users are already hit hard by...
It’s hard to deny just how poorly Chicago’s public schools are performing when it hits you in the face. Such is the case with Paul Robeson High School’s 2014 prom theme: “This is Are Story.” That image came from veteran investigative reporter Chuck Goudie, who posted this image on his Facebook page. Some people might...
The nation’s unemployment rate remained at 6.3 percent in May, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest unemployment report. But with 217,000 jobs created, the total number of payroll jobs has finally recovered to its pre-recession level. In other words, the nation is finally back to where it was six years ago. While...
It’s easy to be apathetic when it comes to effecting change in Illinois. Rampant corruption, legislators voting on bills they don’t read and the oversized influence of lobbyists all make trying to change public policy for the better a seemingly impossible task. But this doesn’t have to be the case – there are plenty of...
Is the school your child attends as good as you think it is? New research by Lance Izumi – senior director of education studies at the California-based Pacific Research Institute – shows that a large number of suburban Illinois public schools aren’t making the grade. His study complements research conducted by the Illinois Policy Institute...