Fortune 500

How Trump’s tax proposals would affect Illinois

By Michael Lucci
05/01/2017
The corporate tax reforms under President Donald Trump’s proposed tax plan could strengthen Illinois’ position as a home for businesses, but the state’s uncompetitive income, property and death tax policies would put its residents at an even greater disadvantage with respect to other states if the president’s plan passes.

TAGS: Chicago, corporate income tax, death tax, Donald Trump, estate tax, income tax, outmigration, population, property taxes, tax credits, taxes

Top 10 facts on 401(k)s for government workers

10/20/2014
Illinois politicians have looted and mismanaged government-worker pensions for decades. Now the retirement security of government workers is at risk. It’s time to take politicians out of the retirement business and give workers control over their own retirement futures. Here are the top 10 facts you need to know about 401(k)-style retirement plans: 1) 401(k)s...

The top 10 things every Illinoisan should know about ObamaCare and Medicaid

10/20/2014
The Affordable Care Act, or ACA, commonly known as ObamaCare, is failing to deliver on its promises to provide health-care access and affordability. While some Illinoisans now have coverage, it has come at the expense of people like Michéle who lost her employer-based coverage as a result of the law and now struggles to find...

401(k)-style retirement plans: a viable alternative

By John Klingner
10/01/2014
Illinois politicians have mismanaged government worker pensions for decades, creating one of the nation’s worst pension crises. Illinois’ five state pension systems collectively have only 41 cents on hand for every dollar they need to pay for future benefits. In the private sector, such a low funding level would mean bankruptcy. Even though politicians have...

America’s digital divide: Startups fly, storefronts struggle

By Michael Lucci
09/26/2014
This article was written by Satta Sarmah and featured in Fast Company on September 26, 2014.  When 30-year-old Chicago native Sheyla Jarocz talks about how a brick and mortar storefront survives in the city’s North Center neighborhood, it sounds like a lonely mission. “I’ve tried to do promotions with nearby businesses,” said Jarocz, who opened Maash Boutique two years...

TAGS: Chicago, jobs

401(k)-style retirement plans are the new normal; Illinois should get on board

By Benjamin VanMetre
07/30/2014
401(k)-style retirement plans have become America’s primary retirement vehicle. In 1985, only one in 10 Fortune 100 companies offered 401(k)-style retirement plans to their employees. Today, seven in 10 Fortune 100 companies provide only defined-contribution, 401(k)-style retirement plans to new employees. This trend is in line with the private sector overall, where nearly 85 percent of...