Donna Arduin is an Illinois Policy Institute senior fellow and a partner at Arduin, Laffer & Moore Econometrics, a group that advises federal, state and municipal leaders, as well as political candidates and private-sector clients, on economic, fiscal and state policies.
On Jan. 11, lawyers for the plaintiffs in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association will argue before the U.S. Supreme Court that the First Amendment prohibits the government from forcing its employees to pay union fees.
Illinois’ monthslong budget gridlock, $111 billion in government-worker pension debt, and more than a decade of unbalanced budgets have resulted in credit downgrades for Illinois and the highest borrowing costs of any state in the nation.
Without a strike fund, AFSCME – which represents 60,000 state workers in Illinois – has avoided a strike. But since the union announced that the governor has walked way from contract talks, a strike could be on the horizon.
Not only are city officials making Chicagoans pay more for services that aren't working, they are making them shoulder the highest tax burden in the state.
Illinois’ tax code stands in the way of the state’s economic competitiveness. The combination of high tax burdens and a poor tax structure contributes to the loss of jobs and investment to other states. From a place of former economic dominance, Illinois now ranks 45th in gross state product (GSP) growth over the past decade...