Chicago voters will pick from 31 candidates for 10 school board seats. The Chicago Teachers Union is trying to expand its political power by pushing a candidate in each of the 10 districts.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker recently approved two laws intended to spur change in the way property taxes work in Illinois. They are old ideas that will provide more show than relief.
The Quad Cities will experience a combined 319 job cuts after John Deere announced layoffs at both its World Headquarters in Moline and Harvester Works factory in East Moline. Romeoville saw more than 1-in-4 of the mass layoffs statewide.
Updated budget forecasts show a $982 million shortfall for the upcoming 2025 budget as Chicago grapples with $223 million remaining deficit this year. Mayor Brandon Johnson refuses to rule out property tax hikes.
Nearly 2 million Illinoisans – or nearly 1-in-6 state residents – received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits in May 2024. Illinois ranked No. 9 in the nation for highest rate of federal food help.
Only California has higher gasoline taxes than Illinois. Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s automatic gas tax boost just bumped the rate to 47 cents per gallon. It was 19 cents before Pritzker took office.
Nearly 100,000 Chicago-area residents are out of work, and at 6.2% the Chicago metro area has the highest unemployment rate of the nation’s 50 largest metro areas. Illinois as a whole isn’t doing much better, with a 6.1% unemployment rate.
Barrington Township will be the first local government in Illinois to give taxpayers a vote on reforming the single-largest property tax driver in the state: public pensions. The advisory referendum will be on the ballot Nov. 5.
Nearly 2 million Illinoisans – or more than 1-in-7 state residents – received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits in March 2024. Alexander and Pulaski counties led the state with 34% of residents receiving SNAP benefits.
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...