The Policy Shop

A weekly podcast tackling Illinois' most important issues.

The Policy Shop: The real causes of – and solutions to – Chicago poverty

This edition of The Policy Shop is by Bryce Hill, director of fiscal and economic research Chicago voters soundly rejected raising taxes on businesses and renters March 19 when they told Mayor Brandon Johnson they didn’t trust his lack of a plan to “Bring Chicago Home.” Johnson still didn’t seem to get the message, even...

The Policy Shop: How the Chicago Teachers Union benefits from failure

This edition of The Policy Shop was written by policy analyst Hannah Schmid Here’s a word problem for Chicago students: Which is greater? Classroom A, where 1% of students can do 8th-grade math, or Classroom B, where 91% of students can do 8th-grade math. If you picked Classroom B, you are WRONG – that is,...

The Policy Shop: The Chicago Teachers Union’s new tax-grabbing power play

This edition of The Policy Shop is by Mailee Smith, senior director of labor policy and staff attorney. The Chicago Teachers Union doesn’t make an investment unless it’s going to pay off. They and their affiliates put $2.5 million into their lobbyist’s campaign to get him elected Chicago mayor. The same folks spent $1.5 million to ensure private school...

The Policy Shop: The Chicago Teachers Union’s affinity for failure

This edition of The Policy Shop is by policy analyst Hannah Schmid. “We pigs are brainworkers. The whole management and organisation of this farm depend on us. Day and night we are watching over your welfare. It is for your sake that we drink the milk and eat those apples.” – George Orwell, “Animal Farm” If...

The Policy Shop: Dunces and double standards in Chicago City Hall

This episode of The Policy Shop is by Mailee Smith, senior director of labor policy and staff attorney. Chicago’s current political culture has sprung from the heart of the radical Chicago Teachers Union. CTU leaders got their lobbyist elected mayor, meaning their beliefs are dominating both the city’s and schools’ direction. But a number of...

The Policy Shop: How much potential does Illinois have?

This episode of The Policy Shop is by Director of Policy Research Joseph Tabor. During the social turmoil of the 1960s, a happy, dancing pop group emerged to emphasize unity and harmony: Up With People. “If more people were for people, All people ev’rywhere, There’d be a lot less people to worry about, And a...

The Policy Shop: Brandon Johnson’s sinking mayorship

This edition of The Policy Shop is by assistant editor Dylan Sharkey. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson just barely won the city election less than a year ago, with about 26,500 of the city’s nearly 1.6 million registered voters handing him the race. A lot has changed since then, and voters are much more polarized in their views...

The Policy Shop: Chicago’s poverty paradox

This edition of The Policy Shop is by Head of Policy Joshua Bandoch. When President Lyndon B. Johnson told the U.S. Congress in 1964 he was declaring the War on Poverty, he did not set out a vision for an America in which over $12 trillion in taxes would be spent over more than 60 years to...