Income-tax revenue represents just one-sixth of the $6.1 billion the state gives to local governments every year. Proposed reforms would leave untouched the vast majority of that money.
As long as the state mandates pension rules and regulations for local governments, unfunded pension liabilities will continue to pressure local budgets.
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...