Illinois

U.S. recovers, Illinois lags

By Michael Lucci
09/05/2014
U.S. nonfarm payrolls added 142,000 jobs in August, against consensus expectations of 230,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. August marked the worst month of job creation in 2014. Average monthly job creation so far this year is 215,000. The national unemployment rate ticked down to 6.1 percent, because only 16,000 unemployed Americans found...

TAGS: jobs

D.C. court to rehear Halbig ObamaCare decision

09/04/2014
Good news for the Obama administration: the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has granted the administration’s request to rehear the court’s July 22 decision in Halbig v. Burwell. That decision struck down an Internal Revenue Service rule that made ObamaCare insurance subsidies available in all 50 states, even though the...

Record number of Illinois government workers opt out of pensions, into 401(k)-style plans

By Benjamin VanMetre
09/03/2014
Illinois has the worst-funded pension systems in the nation. But there’s one group of state-government workers that isn’t worried about whether their retirement checks will be slashed. Today, more than 13 percent of all active employees in the State Universities Retirement System, or SURS, participate in a 401(k)-style plan instead of a traditional pension plan...

New evidence suggests health-exchange enrollment is rapidly declining

By Naomi Lopez Bauman
09/02/2014
It’s been months since the end of ObamaCare’s first open-enrollment period and another is just around the corner in November. But as Illinois officials gear up for the second enrollment period, which begins in November, there is early evidence pointing toward more trouble ahead for the health-care overhaul. The state’s original goal was to enroll...

TAGS: enrollment

Illinois state retirees contribute too little to their health benefits

By Naomi Lopez Bauman
09/02/2014
Illinois is already facing a shortfall of more than $56 billion in retiree health insurance debt. But today, many state workers retire in their 50s with full health-insurance benefits and then supplemental coverage once they are eligible for Medicare. State retirees pay a small portion of that total cost, but taxpayers are footing the bill...

TAGS: health care, Medicare

Illinois’ median wage has collapsed by $12,000 since 1999

By Michael Lucci
09/02/2014
Illinois has long been known as a high-income state, but that‘s changed for many families in the middle. After decades of policy mistakes, the backbone of the state – Illinois’ middle class – has been hollowed out. Throughout Illinois’ history, innovation and high employment led to high incomes, making the Land of Lincoln a wealthy...

TAGS: jobs, median wage

By 2029, Illinois will spend more on pensions than education

By Benjamin VanMetre
09/02/2014
Hardworking Illinois families and entrepreneurs are just four months away from tax relief. The state’s personal income tax rate is slated to drop to 3.75 percent from 5 percent in January 2015. But a number of lawmakers and special-interest groups don’t want to let that happen. Tax-hike advocates across the state argue that Illinois needs...

TAGS: budget, Chicago, income tax, pensions

Citizens auditing committees could yield big savings for taxpayers

By Brian Costin
08/30/2014
With improved state transparency laws and communities all over Illinois voluntarily becoming more transparent online, there’s never been a better time for citizens to get involved and hold local government accountable. But simply advocating for transparent government isn’t enough to identify waste, fraud and abuse of taxpayer dollars. Ultimately, government watchdogs must make use of...

TAGS: audit, good government, transparency, waste

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FAQ: How the federal scholarship program would help Illinois students

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...

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Diana Graham

Process for unionizing non-state workers raises red flags

By Paul Kersey
06/19/2014

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

By Ted Dabrowski
05/02/2016