Illinois

Growing pension costs for Illinois judges are burdening state taxpayers

By John Klingner
07/08/2013
Judges’ contributions to the Judges’ Retirement System, or JRS, have gone up by 52 percent since 1998. During the same time period, taxpayer contributions to judges’ retirements increased by 306 percent. In 2012 alone, Illinois taxpayers contributed $47 million more to JRS than judges did. And the disparity between taxpayers and employee contributions is projected...

Advisory committee on education funding needs to embrace bold reforms

07/07/2013
Nearly every week, I receive a call from an Illinois parent asking about whether the state has a school voucher program. Last week it was a single mother from the South Side of Chicago. Her daughter just graduated from elementary school and will attend one of the city’s worst high schools if her family can’t...

Illinois taxpayers shelling out more to pay for state lawmakers’ retirements

07/06/2013
by Ted Dabrowski Legislators’ contributions to the General Assembly Retirement System, or GARS, have gone up by 33 percent since 1998.  During the same time period, taxpayer contributions to legislators’ retirements increased by 237 percent. In 2012 alone, Illinois taxpayers contributed nearly $9 million more to GARS than legislators did. And the disparity between taxpayers...

Houston woos Dwight Howard with state income tax

By Hilary Gowins
07/05/2013
In the wake of Lebron James’ second-straight NBA title and the end of the professional season, free agents across the league are considering their next moves. Some of the biggest names to enter the free-agent fray include the Los Angeles Lakers’ Dwight Howard and New York Knicks sixth-man, J.R. Smith. As these athletes consider their decision, they’ll...

TAGS: progressive income tax, taxes

Pizza with a purpose: Restaurateur Dimitri Syrkin-Nikolau believes in Illinois’ future

By Hilary Gowins
07/03/2013
Dimitri Syrkin-Nikolau doesn’t just make pizza. Through his Chicagobased business, Dimo’s Pizza, he also cultivates talented employees. He opens his doors to local schools. He helps foster enthusiasm and excitement within his community. That’s because, to Syrkin-Nikolau, business isn’t just about making money. He believes it’s about what he calls “purposeful profit.” “Ultimately, profit is...

Allstate, other Illinois companies set to lay off more than 1,300 employees

By Hilary Gowins
07/03/2013
Allstate Corp. tops the list of Illinois companies planning layoffs, according to a June report from theIllinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, or IDCEO. The Northbrook-based insurance company is planning to lay off 348 workers from its Woodridge, Ill., location as part of a restructuring effort to reduce expenses. Under IDCEO’s Illinois Worker Adjustment and...

Federal government announces one-year delay of ObamaCare’s employer mandate

07/03/2013
by Naomi Lopez-Bauman If ObamaCare weren’t already enough of a train wreck, the irony of the U.S. Treasury Department blog post announcing the delay of  the ObamaCare employer mandate – titled Continuing to Implement the ACA in a Careful, Thoughtful Manner – would be hysterical. The employer mandate is a provision of ObamaCare that requires employers with 50...

Quinn’s crystal ball

By Ted Dabrowski
07/02/2013
After several months of saying that pension reform inaction by the Illinois General Assembly costs taxpayers $17 million a day, Gov. Pat Quinn lowered that number to $5 million per day for fiscal year 2014. That’s surprising, since no pension reform bill was passed in the recent legislative session and the unfunded liability is still almost...
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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