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End legislative pensions in Illinois

06/23/2014
Illinois’ lawmakers often blame unions for the Illinois General Assembly’s inability to pass real pension reform. “The unions will never allow it” is the common chorus when it comes to proposing bold reforms like those recently passed in Oklahoma, which put nearly all new state workers on 401(k)-style plans, or those passed in many other...

TAGS: 401(k), pensions

Pension solutions: reforming retirement age

By Benjamin VanMetre, John Klingner
11/26/2013
THE PROBLEM Illinois’ $100 billion pension crisis is the worst in the nation. The Illinois General Assembly’s failed attempts to solve the pension crisis in the past have only perpetuated Illinois’ problem. Politicians have done nothing more than tinker at the margins of reform to avoid making tough decisions. The reality is minor changes won’t...

Dropping out of pensions

12/31/2012
State law doesn’t allow for the lawmaker, who entered the upper chamber in 2008, to drop out of the system.

Pathway to a Profession: How Apprenticeships Could Reshape Illinois’ Beauty Service Industry

Occupational licensing requirements present one of the steepest barriers to low-income Illinoisans starting careers in beauty services. Illinois requires anyone seeking to become a barber, cosmetologist, nail technician or hair braider to obtain a state license, essentially a permission slip to work. Unlike 45 other states, Illinois offers only one pathway to licensure for each...

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Diana Graham

Process for unionizing non-state workers raises red flags

By Paul Kersey
06/19/2014

CBS Chicago: Illinois’ highest-paid superintendent receives $400K per year to oversee 1,200 students

By Ted Dabrowski
05/02/2016