Illinois

Rock Island committee backs progressive tax plan that would hike taxes on residents

By Benjamin VanMetre
03/18/2014
The Rock Island County Government Affairs Committee recently passed a resolution urging lawmakers in Springfield to increase taxes on middle-class families. The sales pitch for a progressive income tax in Rock Island – as well as cities and counties across the state – is that it would reduce taxes for middle-class residents. That’s simply not...

TAGS: fair tax, graduated income tax, income tax, progressive income tax

Illinois has the second-worst jobless rate in the nation

By Michael Lucci
03/18/2014
Illinois’ loss of 27,600 payroll jobs in January was second-worst nationally, according to today’s release from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Only California, which shed 31,500 payroll positions, fared worse. Texas and Ohio led the nation in adding payroll jobs.   Illinois is one of six states with an unemployment rate significantly above the...

TAGS: jobs, unemployment

Indiana-Illinois border war

By Michael Lucci
03/17/2014
Indiana cut taxes again last week. And it gained another Illinois business. On Thursday, Indiana cut business taxes, including a reduction in the corporate rate. That came on the heels of AM Manufacturing Co.’s announcement that it will move from Illinois to Indiana. AM Manufacturing Co. is a family-owned machine manufacturer. AM Manufacturing will move...

TAGS: Indiana, jobs, taxes, unemployment

Transparency before tax hikes

By Brian Costin
03/16/2014
No matter how you feel about government spending, most of us agree that the people have a right to know how their tax money is being spent. This means that before a local government raises taxes on their citizens, it should be transparent about how current tax dollars are being spent. Unfortunately, most of Illinois’...

TAGS: sales tax, transparency

The Lion Meat Act is back

By Jane McEnaney
03/15/2014
In addition to having the highest jobless rate in the Midwest and the third-highest in the nation, Illinois’ jobless rate has gone up more in the last five years than any other state in the nation. Furthermore, the unfunded liability for Illinois’ five state-run pension systems has officially passed the $100 billion mark. With problems like...

TAGS: Lion Meat Act

New bill would give arbitrators too much power

By Paul Kersey
03/15/2014
A new bill proposed in Illinois, House Bill 5485, would allow arbitrators to impose “minimum staffing requirements” on local fire departments. While this might seem like a minor, technical matter, it has the potential to impose major costs on taxpayers, as elected officials from communities such as Rockford and Oak Lawn are warning in a...

TAGS: labor

Illinois bill would require prescription for cold medicine

By Bryant Jackson-Green
03/14/2014
Should you need a prescription to buy cold medicine? State Sen. Dave Koehler thinks so, and he has introduced a bill that would require just that for medicines you’ve always been allowed to buy over the counter. Senate Bill 3502 would amend the Illinois Controlled Substances Act to categorize ephedrine and pseudoephedrine as “Schedule III”...

TAGS: nanny state

Illinois’ biased eighth-grade labor history curricula

By Paul Kersey
03/14/2014
Illinois state law requires that students be taught the history of organized labor by the end of eighth grade. And there is a bill in the General Assembly that would expand on that, so schoolchildren would have to learn more about unions. Unions are powerful institutions, so it’s reasonable to expect that children be taught...

TAGS: education, labor, unions

Chicago pension funds have $0.36 for every $1 needed to pay out future benefits

By Benjamin VanMetre
03/14/2014
Moody’s Investors Service recently cut the city of Chicago’s credit rating to Baa1 from A3, citing pension debt as a key factor in the downgrade. Chicago’s now has the lowest credit rating of all the major cities in the U.S., with the exception of Detroit. Moody’s saw something that’s being ignored by Illinois lawmakers –...

TAGS: Chicago

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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