budget

Pritzker’s accounting gimmicks can’t fix pension crisis, but real reform can

By Adam Schuster
02/21/2020
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker previously floated a pension plan that included pawning-off state assets, taking on more high-interest debt and reducing pension funding before walking back the plan amid criticism. Here’s a real solution.

TAGS: bonds, budget, COLA: cost of living adjustment, credit rating, fair tax, Illinois Constitution, Illinois Department of Revenue, JB Pritzker, Moody's Investor Service, pensions, progressive income tax, Standard & Poor's

Pritzker claims statewide economic growth, but these Illinois metro areas are shedding jobs

By Bryce Hill
02/10/2020
Despite Gov. J.B. Pritzker touting growth in “every major region,” Illinois shed jobs in three metropolitan areas and lagged the national average in seven more.

TAGS: Bloomington, BLS: Bureau of Labor Statistics, budget, Carbondale, Champaign, Chicago, constitutional amendment, economic competitiveness, economic growth, economics, economy, employment, fair tax, flat tax, government spending, graduated income tax, Great Recession, ILGA: Illinois General Assembly, Illinois, Illinois Constitution, income growth, JB Pritzker, job creation, jobs, labor, Madison County, metro areas, Metro East, Moline, pensions, Peoria, population, progressive income tax, recession, Rockford, spending, spending cap, Springfield, St. Clair County, tax burden, tax hikes, tax increase, unemployment, Urbana, working-age

Chicago’s 2020 budget proposal was never truly balanced

By Adam Schuster, Bill Reveille
11/26/2019
Faced with the impossible task of balancing Chicago’s budget without pension reform, Mayor Lori Lightfoot is forced to partially rely on phantom cuts and revenues.

TAGS: bonds, budget, CAFR: Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, Chicago, Chicago City Council, Chicago City Hall, constitutional amendment, CTA: Chicago Transit Authority, CTU: Chicago Teachers Union, deficit, emergency fee, homelessness, housing market, ILGA: Illinois General Assembly, interest rates, library, Lori Lightfoot, Lyft, property taxes, Rahm Emanuel, real estate, real estate transfer tax, tax hikes, tax increase, TIF: Tax Increment Financing, Uber

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4 ways to break out of Illinois’ pension trap

Causes, costs, how to set the state free

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Diana Graham

Process for unionizing non-state workers raises red flags

By Paul Kersey
06/19/2014

CBS Chicago: Illinois’ highest-paid superintendent receives $400K per year to oversee 1,200 students

By Ted Dabrowski
05/02/2016