Illinois courts’ long history of being friendly to plaintiffs and personal injury attorneys showed up again in a reform group’s annual ranking. Cook County, St. Clair County and Madison County together moved up in the rankings of “judicial hellholes.”
Pritzker claims statewide economic growth, but these Illinois metro areas are shedding jobs
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.
Pension costs push Metro East property taxes up, as population shrinks
Residents in Illinois’ Metro East area are fleeing a growing property tax burden, fueling regional population loss.
Southwestern Illinois loses big chunk of population, with one exception
One Illinois county in the greater St. Louis area is losing so many residents it ranks No. 5 nationwide for population loss. Its neighboring county was one of the few in Illinois to grow.
Metro East voters dissolve underwater park district
Taxpayers voted overwhelmingly to dissolve Collinsville Area Recreation District – but the debt the district incurred will burden taxpayers for years.
Belleville has seen sharpest population decline among top Illinois cities since 2010
As Illinois struggles to address its people problem, population loss has plagued communities across the Land of Lincoln. But the shrinkage in some areas has been more severe than others.
As Alton shrinks, school district administrator salaries grow
More than half of local school district administrators earn more than $100,000, and those incomes will get a boost after a recent board decision.
More than 230 Belleville school district employees earn more than $100K
Many school district employees’ earnings are more than double that of the typical Belleville household.
Elimination of Alton Township could be placed in voters’ hands
Taxpayers in the city of Alton, which has identical borders to that of Alton Township, could see savings through consolidation.
Chicago was the only major U.S. city to lose population from 2016 to 2017
In a shrinking state, half of Illinois’ largest cities have shed population since 2010.