Despite the potential for imposing new costs on school districts, Illinois lawmakers overrode Gov. Bruce Rauner’s veto on a bill mandating cursive writing instruction.
An amendment has been filed in the Illinois House of Representatives that would remove language making local government officials criminals simply for enacting Right-to-Work laws. But significant problems remain.
The state’s combined incentives package will reportedly include $1.4 billion in EDGE tax credits, $450 million in improvements, $250 million in new education and workforce programs, and more.
Illinois will need more foreign investment, and major reforms to the state’s business climate, in order to get off the weak economic path it now treads.
While borrowing to help pay down the state’s unpaid bill backlog will save money on interest payments and relieve pressure on those waiting for cash, it also perpetuates Illinois’ spending problem.
Chicago’s $1.15 billion projected budget gap is the latest in a decades-long string of structural deficits. Making Chicago’s high taxes worse is not the solution.