Illinois universities charge high price for perverse priorities
Illinois universities charge high price for perverse priorities
More than 50 percent of the state’s $4.1 billion budget for public universities is spent on retirement costs alone.
Picking the bones of Illinois taxpayers
Picking the bones of Illinois taxpayers
Jim Work
Jim Work
“I’m a case study in who you don’t want leaving the state. “I grew up in Wheaton and went to college for accounting at NIU, but I was working in construction the whole time. It was so much better than the typical minimum wage job you get to pay for tuition. You could work outside,...
Comptroller halts funding for state IT modernization program
Comptroller halts funding for state IT modernization program
Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza is suspending funding for a technology initiative Gov. Bruce Rauner has said would save taxpayer money and promote efficiency, data security and transparency in state government.
Illinois has highest overall tax burden in the nation
Illinois has highest overall tax burden in the nation
A new report from WalletHub finds Illinois’ combined state and local tax burden is higher than that of every other state and the District of Columbia.
Fact-checking Rahm: Students have been leaving Illinois for at least 15 years
Fact-checking Rahm: Students have been leaving Illinois for at least 15 years
Uncertainty about skyrocketing tuition costs, rising taxes, and other factors are the likeliest culprits of Illinois’ student out-migration crisis.
Michigan has reversed the flow of interstate migration with Illinois
Michigan has reversed the flow of interstate migration with Illinois
Illinois used to gain net population from Michigan, but data for recent years indicate that Michigan now gains more residents on net from Illinois.
January jobs growth weak, Illinois labor force in 10-year decline
January jobs growth weak, Illinois labor force in 10-year decline
Newly released Illinois jobs report points to anemic jobs growth and a contracting labor force.
Illinois pension debt
Illinois pension debt
Unpaid sick leave will cost taxpayers $3.4 billion over the next three decades
Unpaid sick leave will cost taxpayers $3.4 billion over the next three decades
Top school district superintendents have used the sick-leave perk to boost their pensions by $350,000 or more over the course of their retirements.
AFSCME’s battle with Rauner is far from over
AFSCME’s battle with Rauner is far from over
An Illinois appellate court ruled in favor of AFSCME March 1, but that isn’t the end of the court battle between the state and its largest government-worker union. The court’s order to prevent the governor from implementing his contract offer is temporary, and there is much more to come.
The fair share option for Rockford school workers who don’t want to strike
The fair share option for Rockford school workers who don’t want to strike
Bus drivers, paraprofessionals and food services workers at Rockford Public Schools will go on strike March 15 if a new contract is not reached soon. Employees who want to go to work can be punished by AFSCME Local 692. They can avoid union punishment by becoming fair share payers.
Rip Van Democrats
Rip Van Democrats
Illinois Medicaid expansion costs are already double initial projections
Illinois Medicaid expansion costs are already double initial projections
Between 2014 and 2016, Illinois’ Medicaid expansion cost $4.6 billion more than its supporters had forecasted, crowding out services for Illinois’ most vulnerable residents.