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

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

By Ann Miller

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

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

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

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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The Rev. Phalese Binion

Process for unionizing non-state workers raises red flags

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