Illinois’ broken pension system puts $100,000 a year or more into the hands of 62 former state lawmakers. It has paid more than $1 million to 94 of them.
Another Illinois lawmaker hits the pension lottery
There’s a lot of talk about renewed bipartisanship and a new day in Springfield. Dozens of state lawmakers have already opted out of the pension system. The General Assembly should take the lead and phase out their own defined-benefit system and get to work on a constitutional fix for the rest of Illinois’ pension mess.
Longtime Illinois House Rep. Lou Lang resigns, joins lobbying firm
The former deputy majority leader resigned his House seat two days prior to being sworn into the 101st General Assembly. A Springfield lobbying firm hired him.
State government watchdogs remain far too tame
Illinoisans shouldn’t have to wait for yet another humiliating scandal to fix what’s wrong here: Politicians should have no place in policing their own oversight.
US Supreme Court ruling means Illinois could legalize sports betting
A decisive opinion issued by the U.S. Supreme Court reversed a 1992 ban on sports gambling, putting the ball in Springfield’s court.
Illinois General Assembly proposes new internet privacy protections
As the federal government repeals regulations requiring broadband companies to obtain consumers’ consent before using their browsing history and other personal information to create targeted ads, Illinois state politicians are moving to ramp up privacy protections. However, whether these bills would actually further those privacy goals or whether they would merely bolster Illinois’ class-action lawsuit industry while burdening businesses are open questions.