Classrooms First Act unanimously passes Illinois House committee

By Brad Weisenstein

03/24/2021

A bill to channel education dollars from duplicate bureaucracy and into classrooms or back to property taxpayers won committee approval. It is headed for a full vote in the Illinois House.

TAGS: administrative bloat, Classrooms First Act, consolidation, Rita Mayfield, school district efficiency

Three myths about district consolidation under the Classrooms First Act

By Adam Schuster

03/24/2021

A bill that could reduce property taxes and improve education quality faces a misinformation campaign from school district administrators seeking to preserve wasteful bureaucracy. Here are the facts about the Classrooms First Act.

TAGS: administrative bloat, consolidation, Rita Mayfield, school district efficiency

Consolidating school districts could cut family’s tax bill by $1,030

03/23/2021

House Bill 7 would create a process to review and recommend consolidating school district administration, with the goal of cutting bureaucracy so the money goes to classrooms or back to taxpayers.

TAGS: administrative bloat, Classrooms First Act, consolidation, Rita Mayfield, school district efficiency

Illinois wastes taxes supporting too many school district bureaucracies

By Adam Schuster

02/25/2020

Illinois could put $708 million more toward classrooms or property tax relief if it reduced school district bureaucracy to national average.

TAGS: administrative bloat, consolidation, education bureaucracy, education spending, Rita Mayfield, school district efficiency

Red-light camera backlash gains bipartisan momentum in Springfield

By Vincent Caruso

10/15/2019

Driver headaches and corruption flow from red-light cameras. Two bills with bipartisan support would ban the traffic devices in Illinois.

TAGS: corruption, David McSweeney, Grant Wehrli, Jonathan Carroll, Margo McDermed, Mark Batinick, Martin Sandoval, red light cameras, Rita Mayfield, SafeSpeed, Sam Yingling

Cost of Illinois’ education bureaucracy crowds out classroom spending

By Adam Schuster

08/20/2019

More than 9,000 Illinois school district administrators earn more than $100,000 a year. Each of them will collect at least $3 million in pension benefits during retirement.

TAGS: education, municipal pensions, pension guarantee, pensions, Rita Mayfield, school district consolidation, school district efficiency

Illinois House unanimously passes education efficiency bill

By Adam Schuster

03/28/2019

By reducing administrative bloat in Illinois school districts, the bill would enable property tax relief while ensuring education dollars reach students and classrooms first, rather than bureaucrats.

TAGS: education, municipal pensions, pension guarantee, pensions, property taxes, Rita Mayfield, school district consolidation, school district efficiency, taxes

Education efficiency bill would prioritize classroom spending

By Vincent Caruso

03/11/2019

A bill in the Illinois House would empower voters to reform the funding priorities of their local school districts.

TAGS: budget, municipal pensions, pension guarantee, pensions, property taxes, Rita Mayfield, school district consolidation, taxes

Trio of occupational licensing bills en route to governor’s desk

By Vincent Caruso

05/23/2018

A series of occupational licensing reform bills making their way out of the General Assembly would help more Illinoisans enter the workforce.

TAGS: Bruce Rauner, Chuck Weaver, criminal justice reform, occupational licensing, Pam Althoff, Rita Mayfield

Lawmakers to homeowners: ‘You’ll get nothing and like it’

By Austin Berg

05/10/2018

In a matter of hours, Illinoisans saw bipartisan opposition to property tax relief and bipartisan support for higher property taxes.

TAGS: outmigration, Peter Breen, property taxes, Rita Mayfield, taxes, Tom Morrison

Fixing Illinois pension crisis by amending nation’s most-restrictive pension law is legal, effective

Illinois is home to one of the worst pension crises in the country.1 At 39% funded, according to the nonpartisan Pew Charitable Trusts, Illinois has the worst pension funding ratio of any state.2 By contrast, neighboring Wisconsin’s pension system is 103% funded.3 In fiscal year 2022, Illinois’ total general funds pension costs, including pension bond...

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Fixing Illinois pension crisis by amending nation’s most-restrictive pension law is legal, effective

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Cathy Stuehmeier

Process for unionizing non-state workers raises red flags

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