More than 18 months after Illinois Department of Employment Security offices closed their doors to Illinoisans, all state job centers have reopened for in-person assistance. Job seekers need an appointment, though.
Rapidly rising pension costs compete with classroom spending, reducing resources for teachers and students while driving up property taxes.
Despite so much of the property tax share going to public pensions, there is still a huge unmet pension debt. The average Rock Island household owes nearly $40,000 to state and local pensions.
Chicago homeowners are likely to see average property tax bills rise between $72 and $180 based on the city’s new budget. Higher taxes are driven by $47 billion in pension debt, but pension reform can change that.
The average Danville household owns nearly $40,000 in state and local pension debt.
“And a private sector company can’t lose this type of money without losing customers. Instead of working with Bank of America, you may just move to Wells Fargo. Well, what’s your alternative when it’s the state of Illinois? Got to move to a different state.”
“I want to tell my story so that kids that deal with learning disabilities or people telling them, ‘They can’t be something,’ feel like they can be something, and they don’t listen to the negativity.”
Illinois’ non-farm payrolls only added 2,500 jobs from mid-July to mid-August. Unemployment was steadily high as the rest of the nation recovered.
Illinois missed the September deadline to repay a $4.2 billion federal unemployment loan. Employers warn inaction by state lawmakers could ‘cripple’ businesses and the COVID-19 economic recovery.
With rising costs and sinking test scores, school district efficiency and pension reform provide ways to put more money into Waukegan classrooms and improve student achievement.
Public pensions are growing and taking a greater share of property taxes, hurting public services. Still, the average Rockford household owes over $35,000 in state and local pension debt.
The Illinois State Board of Education might have overstepped its authority by yanking recognition of schools that defied a statewide mask mandate. State lawmakers have asked the board to clarify those rules.
Nearly a year and a half after IDES closed job centers statewide, the unemployment agency began reopening offices for in-person assistance. So far 13 offices have reopened, with only one in Chicago.