Chicago

Good politics makes bad policy on Emanuel minimum-wage hike

By Jane McEnaney
09/12/2014
On Sept. 3, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel signed an executive order requiring city contractors to immediately hike wages for the city workers they employ to $13 per hour from the current rate of $11.93 per hour. The current rate is already nearly 45 percent higher than the statewide minimum wage of $8.25 per hour. Illinoisans...

TAGS: Chicago, minimum wage, Rahm Emanuel

A legislative agenda for entrepreneurs

By Michael Lucci
09/08/2014
Illinois has become infamous for encouraging cronyism and discouraging entrepreneurship, but there are a number of steps state lawmakers could take to end this cycle and encourage growth. Without serious changes, Illinois will continue on a cycle of job loss and economic decline. According to the Kauffman Foundation, Illinois ranks near the bottom for entrepreneurial...

TAGS: Chicago, jobs

Illinois corruption watch, August 2014

By Brian Costin
09/05/2014
At least 84 corruption-related stories have been reported from across the state of Illinois in August alone. Atop August headlines is the recent revelation that a federal grand jury subpoenaed the emails of Gov. Pat Quinn’s ex-chief of staff in relation to Quinn’s anti-violence grant program. The case, which has been referred to by some...

TAGS: Chicago, corruption, cronyism, transparency, waste

Too fast too spurious: Quinn vetoes speed limit increase

By Austin Berg
08/29/2014
When it comes to Illinoisans and their cars, Gov. Pat Quinn can’t seem to make up his mind. This time last year, Quinn signed legislation upping the speed limit on rural interstates to 70 mph from 65 mph. He cited a fear that if Illinois didn’t keep up with higher speed limits in other states,...

TAGS: Pat Quinn, speed limit

Quinn vetoes Uber legislation that would have stifled innovation, jobs growth and competition

By Matt Paprocki
08/25/2014
Nearly three months after the Illinois General Assembly passed devastating restrictions on innovative ridesharing services such as Uber and Lyft, Gov. Pat Quinn issued a surprising blow to the taxicab lobby by vetoing the job-killing legislation in its entirety. This March, in response to the recent success and popularity of ridesharing programs such as Uber...

TAGS: Chicago, Uber, veto

Gov. Quinn vetoes Uber bill

08/25/2014
On Aug. 25 Gov. Pat Quinn vetoed a bill pushed by the taxi lobby that would have restricted ridesharing services such as UberX and Lyft in Chicago. The veto is good news for ridesharing consumers and drivers. Uber will now move forward with its plan to bring 425 new jobs to Illinois. The bill’s champion...

TAGS: Chicago, rideshare, taxis, Uber

Food-cart ban harms immigrants, new entrepreneurs

By Bryant Jackson-Green
08/25/2014
There’s no right more basic than the right to earn a living to support yourself and your family. And for decades, that’s what street vendors have been trying to do. From elote-cart owners in Little Village to ice-cream carts along North Avenue Beach, entrepreneurs – who are often recent immigrants – have supported themselves by...

TAGS: Chicago, food carts

Cubs tarp fiasco a result of ObamaCare?

By Naomi Lopez Bauman
08/22/2014
Forget the Curse of the Billygoat – the spectre of ObamaCare might have embarrassed the Cubs organization just as much as the team’s poor performance on the field. Already running last in the National League Central, the franchise suffered another blow to their ego this week when they allegedly failed to staff enough grounds crew...

Union waste and pay raises cost thousands of government workers their jobs

By Paul Kersey
08/22/2014
Several of Illinois’ most influential government unions are wasting money on overhead and administrative costs. Workers aren’t getting their money’s worth for the dues they are forced to pay. But state-employee pay has more than doubled over the last decade or so, with lax attendance rules that actually reward workers for showing up late to work....