The Illinois Senate has passed a bill to overturn municipal Right-to-Work ordinances and prevent Illinois localities from expanding worker freedom in their communities.

Privatizing some medical services provided to inmates in the Illinois Department of Corrections could potentially save the state $8 million a year. But the Illinois Nurses Association has a history of doing all it can to keep taxpayers on the hook for that money – and for union jobs that might not even be necessary.

A group of teachers in the Noble Network of Charter Schools are seeking union representation. Here’s what Noble teachers need to know before voting to unionize.

While states surrounding Illinois are enacting labor reforms that benefit residents, Illinois remains a bastion of labor power. Now the Chicago Teachers Union wants even more power – including the broadened right to go on strike and strand parents and students.

AFSCME’s obstruction of a contract for state workers costs taxpayers approximately $35 million to $40 million a month in healthcare costs alone. Gov. Bruce Rauner is seeking a direct appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court to bring relief to taxpayers burdened by AFSCME’s stall tactics.

The Illinois Supreme Court refused to hear Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s request to stop state employees from getting paid until a budget is passed.

Negotiations between government-worker unions and governing bodies are conducted behind closed doors, away from public scrutiny. And yet taxpayers are required to pay for whatever extravagant benefits the unions obtain. Recently a bill in the General Assembly would have brought more transparency – and accountability – to the process, but it failed to make it out of committee.

Through collective bargaining agreements with the state, government-worker unions require access to workers’ social security numbers – even if those workers are not members of the union. A bill protecting worker privacy recently failed to get enough votes to pass out of committee.