Lawmakers made no serious attempt to balance the new budget, instead counting on a federal bailout. They accepted an $1,800 raise for themselves, while only making significant cuts to education.

The years 2010 through 2019 will go down in Illinois history as a decade of public policy failure and economic decline. High fixed costs for pensions and government worker health care have prevented the state from balancing its budget in any year since 2001. Since the Great Recession in 2008, the state’s fiscal imbalance has...

The Chicago Teachers Union has threatened to strike over contract demands that would cost taxpayers an extra $397 million in the first year. Chicago teachers already make more than other big city peers.

An Illinois House bill that would allow more education funding dollars reach the classroom before getting trapped in administration has earned support from both parties – and the opposition of administrators.