Maria Rodriguez
Maria Rodriguez
“It has been a great blessing for us because we are a low-income family, and we needed the help from the scholarships.”
Illinois House bill would jeopardize Madigan’s $151K pension
Illinois House bill would jeopardize Madigan’s $151K pension
A new bill in the Illinois House calls for suspending the pensions for legislators facing corruption charges. Former House Speaker Michael Madigan, recently indicted for racketeering and bribery, is set to collect $12,600 per month starting in July.
Lightfoot’s speed camera jackpot
Lightfoot’s speed camera jackpot
Speed cameras issue more tickets in 2021 than Chicago has residents
Speed cameras issue more tickets in 2021 than Chicago has residents
Chicago drivers were issued more speed tickets in 2021 than there are city residents. Annual ticket revenues doubled, but fatal crashes still increased.
Experts: Illinois lawmakers wrong to back 80% funding level for pensions
Experts: Illinois lawmakers wrong to back 80% funding level for pensions
Illinois’ 90% funding target already violates best practices, but some have proposed going even lower. That’s a bad idea based on a myth, according to the American Academy of Actuaries.
Champaign-Urbana loses 5,300 jobs in February as most Illinois metros gain
Champaign-Urbana loses 5,300 jobs in February as most Illinois metros gain
Illinois posted job growth of 19,600 in February, with bigger payrolls in 10 of 14 Illinois-based metropolitan areas.
Lightfoot abandons gas tax cut for gas, transit card lottery
Lightfoot abandons gas tax cut for gas, transit card lottery
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot will raffle gas and mass transit cards instead of cutting her new 3-cent gas tax. The shift follows aldermen questioning how much a gas tax cut would cost the city.
Pritzker ranks 4th-worst governor for economic freedom
Pritzker ranks 4th-worst governor for economic freedom
In a new report on America’s 50 governors, Gov. J.B Pritzker was ranked 47th because of the harm he’s done to the state economy. Voters saved him from a lower rank by rejecting his ‘fair tax.’
Bullied students find better education thanks to Illinois’ school choice program
Bullied students find better education thanks to Illinois’ school choice program
Jerry Valdivia’s children were scarred in a fire that killed their mom. They avoided bullying and found a nurturing private school thanks to Illinois’ school choice scholarship program.
Illinois’ leisure, hospitality industry suffering 3rd-worst recovery in U.S.
Illinois’ leisure, hospitality industry suffering 3rd-worst recovery in U.S.
Illinois is still missing 77,000 jobs from its restaurants, bars, hotels and other leisure industries since COVID-19 shutdowns. That Illinois jobs sector has recovered only 72% of what it lost in the pandemic – one of the nation’s worst recoveries.
Ep. 30: Pain in the gas
Ep. 30: Pain in the gas
Gas prices are skyrocketing across the country. And while the pain is felt nationwide, gas prices are always worse for Illinoisans, where drivers pay the second-highest gas taxes in the nation. Adam Schuster joins the Policy Shop to breaks down the various layers of taxes that drive pain at the pump in Illinois. Host: Hilary...
Illinois COVID-19 school closures hurt math, reading scores
Illinois COVID-19 school closures hurt math, reading scores
SAT math scores dropped nearly 15%, and reading scores dropped 9% from 2019 to 2021 among Illinois high school juniors. Low-income and minority students saw bigger losses.
Pritzker: Reverse Pied Piper
Pritzker: Reverse Pied Piper
Illinois adds 19,600 jobs in February, still missing 178,300 jobs from pandemic
Illinois adds 19,600 jobs in February, still missing 178,300 jobs from pandemic
Illinois’ employment recovery continued in February, but the state is still missing 21% of the jobs it lost in early 2020