Voters will have the opportunity in November to decide, by way of a constitutional amendment, whether lawmakers should be able to divert transportation funds toward other priorities.
Unlike the Illinois Supreme Court’s protection of the status quo, a California appeals court is allowing a pension reform law to move forward and potentially reduce that state’s pension burden.
More realistic investment return assumptions by the Teachers’ Retirement System mean Illinois taxpayer contributions to the fund could rise by hundreds of millions of dollars. Ending teacher pension pickups would alleviate the burden on Illinois taxpayers.
Tax-hike proponents claim there’s no way to fix Illinois’ chronic budget problems without more money. They want Illinoisans to believe the state’s tax revenues simply aren’t enough to cover the cost of government. But tax revenues aren’t the real problem. Illinois’ perennial budget crises stem from the state’s persistent overspending and misplaced spending priorities. The...
Illinois students could soon benefit from scholarship money to help them find a tutor, attend ACT or SAT prep sessions, pay tuition, get special education services or assist with other academic needs. That will happen in Illinois only if Gov. J.B. Pritzker lets the state’s schoolchildren benefit from the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit program, established...