Leaving child Home Alone could land parents in jail this holiday season

By Ben Szalinski

12/19/2019

Illinois’ restrictive and vague laws could mean arrest for parents who leave their kids at home while they run a quick holiday errand.

TAGS: Chicago, child, children, Christmas, Corey Widen, criminal justice reform, Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, Illinois House of Representatives, Illinois Senate, jail, lawmakers, Natasha Felix, neglect, overcriminalization, police, supervision, warrant, wilmette, winnetka

‘Home Alone’ with a $35K property tax bill

By Brad Weisenstein

12/17/2019

No longer are two guys in stocking caps attacking the Winnetka house made famous in the holiday movie, but property taxes and declining home values are still robbing the owners.

TAGS: Chicago, Cook County, home alone, Illinois, Illinois General Assembly, JB Pritzker, pension debt, pension reform, property taxes, Springfield, taxing districts, winnetka

Where you can and can’t buy recreational marijuana in Illinois

By Ben Szalinski

11/15/2019

Many Illinois municipalities have voted to ban or restrict marijuana sales when it becomes legal for sale. Here’s a list of where pot will, won’t and might be legally bought.

TAGS: Arlington Heights, bolingbrook, Buffalo Grove, cannabis, carbondale, Carol Stream, Chicago, city of springfield, collar counties, Collinsville, counties, Danville, decatur, Downers Grove, DuPage County, edwardsville, elmhurst, ganja, grayslake, Highland Park, Joliet, Lake Forest, lake zurich, legalization, libertyville, Lombard, marijuana, mundelein, municipal government, naperville, northbrook, Oak Park, plainfield, prohibition, schaumburg, urbana, Waukegan, Wheaton, winnetka

More than half of joint filers in Winnetka, Northfield would see income tax hike if voters approve Pritzker’s ‘fair tax’

By Bryce Hill, Chena Underhill

10/20/2019

Voters statewide will decide whether 2,740 Winnetka and Northfield taxpayers should send $119 million in additional income taxes to Springfield.

TAGS: fair tax, graduated income tax, income tax, JB Pritzker, progressive income tax, taxes, winnetka

Power in payments: Illinois can help unbanked residents, save money by adopting best practices in payment methods

Each year, tens of billions of dollars flow through Illinois state government.1 These flows all depend on methods of payment. In deciding on those payment methods, policymakers must consider a number of important factors, including security controls, cost effectiveness, accessibility, speed and allowance for choice. This report shows that by adopting best practices across all...

View Report

Power in payments: Illinois can help unbanked residents, save money by adopting best practices in payment methods

Report Archive

Ifeoma Nkemdi

Policy lessons from Illinois’ exodus of people and money

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