Illinoisans’ confidence in their state government is the lowest of residents of any state in the nation, and corruption stories from February 2016 don’t help.
Since Chicago officials received a city watchdog investigation recommending six officers be disciplined for their roles surrounding the killing of David Koschman by a nephew of former Mayor Richard M. Daley, three have retired.
From taxpayer- and donor-funded spending sprees by the president of an Illinois public college, to Chicago’s red-light-camera ticketing and kick-back schemes, 2015 has been rife with instances of public corruption and lack of government transparency.
As a majority of recently polled likely Chicago voters believe Mayor Rahm Emanuel should resign, AM 560’s Dan Proft and Pat Hughes, co-founder of the Illinois Opportunity Project, look ahead to the 2019 mayoral election and the possibilities for reform-minded candidates.
Madigan’s letter to the Justice Department came on the same day Chicago’s police superintendent, Garry McCarthy, resigned at the request of Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
Illinois’ tax code stands in the way of the state’s economic competitiveness. The combination of high tax burdens and a poor tax structure contributes to the loss of jobs and investment to other states. From a place of former economic dominance, Illinois now ranks 45th in gross state product (GSP) growth over the past decade...