Despite financial crisis, Chicago State University pays lobbyists, Madigan spokesman hundreds of thousands

01/23/2017

Chicago State University spent more than $200,000 lobbying Springfield politicians, while deteriorating finances caused it to lay off hundreds of employees, including professors.

TAGS: CSU: Chicago State University, higher education, lobbying, Mike Madigan, Steve Brown

New bill would even the playing field for third-party and independent candidates

By Brendan Bakala

01/23/2017

Senate Bill 63 would make signature requirements to get on the ballot uniform for all candidates.

TAGS: ballot, election, Kyle McCarter

Illinois extends failed corporate tax credit program

01/23/2017

Gov. Bruce Rauner signed an extension of the EDGE tax credit program, though the program has an unsuccessful record of using taxpayer money.

TAGS: cronyism, DCEO: Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, EDGE: Economic Development for a Growing Economy, tax credits, taxes

Illinois lost 5 residents per day to Kentucky in 2015

By Madelyn Harwood

01/23/2017

Expect Kentucky to gain even more Illinoisans in coming years.

TAGS: Kentucky, labor, outmigration, population, right to work, unions

Illinois needs a vision, not just a budget

By Ted Dabrowski

01/23/2017

The Illinois Senate budget proposal merely puts off the state’s day of reckoning through more of the same: tax hikes, borrowing and spending, without the necessary reforms to put the state on a path to fiscal and economic health.

TAGS: budget, John Cullerton

Illinois Supreme Court ends Chicago tax on suburban car rentals

01/23/2017

The Illinois Supreme Court shut down a tax Chicago was imposing on car rentals outside city limits, noting the potentially chaotic nature of the policy.

TAGS: Chicago, Illinois Supreme Court, taxes

6 highlights from Illinois criminal justice commission’s final report

By Hilary Gowins

01/20/2017

The criminal justice commission’s recommendations work toward providing more opportunity for ex-offenders and reducing the state’s prison population.

TAGS: Bruce Rauner, criminal justice reform, Illinois State Commission on Criminal Justice and Sentencing Reform, licensing, occupational licensing

Illinois loses 16,700 jobs in face of new tax hike proposals

By Michael Lucci

01/20/2017

New Illinois jobs data reveal a state with thousands of job losses, unemployment rising to 5.7 percent, a collapsing manufacturing sector, and several downstate communities sliding back into recession — all of which make the Illinois Senate’s new tax hike proposal especially harmful.

TAGS: BLS: Bureau of Labor Statistics, IDES: Illinois Department of Employment Security, jobs, manufacturing, unemployment

The Illinois state senators who pledged not to raise taxes

By Brendan Bakala

01/20/2017

As pressure mounts on state senators and representatives to vote in favor of multibillion-dollar tax hikes, lawmakers should remember the promises they’ve made to taxpayers.

TAGS: Bill Brady, Christine Radogno, Dave Syverson, income tax, Jim Oberweis, John Cullerton, Kyle McCarter, Sue Rezin, taxes, Tim Bivins

AFSCME strike would be illegal if, as AFSCME claims, there is no impasse

By Mailee Smith

01/20/2017

Illinois law provides state workers a right to strike – but only if a strike is legal. State workers represented by AFSCME can go on strike only if the union and the state are at impasse in contract negotiations – and AFSCME claims they are not.

TAGS: AFSCME: American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, labor, unions

Illinois

Despite financial crisis, Chicago State University pays lobbyists, Madigan spokesman hundreds of thousands

New bill would even the playing field for third-party and independent candidates

Illinois extends failed corporate tax credit program

Illinois lost 5 residents per day to Kentucky in 2015

Illinois needs a vision, not just a budget

Illinois Supreme Court ends Chicago tax on suburban car rentals

6 highlights from Illinois criminal justice commission’s final report

Illinois loses 16,700 jobs in face of new tax hike proposals

The Illinois state senators who pledged not to raise taxes

AFSCME strike would be illegal if, as AFSCME claims, there is no impasse

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

Report Archive

Diana Graham

Process for unionizing non-state workers raises red flags

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