Illinois General Assembly

Veto session week 2 recap

By Donovan Griffith
12/06/2014
Action, or lack thereof, on the 2011 income-tax hikes, a minimum-wage increase, SEIU training and more affect Illinoisans in the wake of a lame-duck death.

TAGS: Chicago, lame duck session

Proposed fee on health-insurance plans can’t cover costs of a state-funded exchange

By Naomi Lopez Bauman
12/02/2014
Legislation being advanced by state Rep. Robyn Gabel, D-Chicago, would attempt to cover costs by charging a fee on every health-insurance plan sold through the state-funded health insurance exchange. This funding mechanism is likely to be insufficient. In fact, the new state tax on insurance plans may need to be three times the amount currently under consideration to truly cover administrative costs.



TAGS: ACA: Affordable Care Act, health insurance

Top 10 pension facts

10/20/2014
Here are the top 10 facts you need to know about Illinois’ pension crisis: 1) Illinois’ state pension funds have only 41 cents for every dollar they need to pay out future benefits. 2) Illinois has the nation’s worst pension crisis. Taxpayers are officially on the hook for more than $100 billion in unfunded Illinois pension debt,...

Top 10 facts about local government transparency in Illinois

10/20/2014
One of the best protections against government corruption is transparency. And in today’s digital age, one of the easiest ways for government to be open and accountable is through posting public documents on the Internet. Illinois needs to strengthen online transparency standards to fight government corruption and wasteful spending practices, especially given its troubled history...

TAGS: good government, local government, transparency