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.
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.
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,...
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...
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...