Illinois

Quinn’s refusal to implement retiree health insurance legislation costs taxpayers big

By Jonathan Ingram
12/10/2012
On top of the state’s massive pension debt, Illinois taxpayers are saddled with another $54 billion in debt for retiree health benefits. For years, retired state and university workers have paid little or nothing toward the cost of their health insurance premiums. With the annual cost for these benefits rapidly approaching $1 billion and crowding out other...

Rock Island County paid $20,489 to Swine-time Pig Racing

By Benjamin VanMetre
12/07/2012
Property taxes are rising, state income taxes are higher, unemployment is nearly 9 percent and local governments are supposedly cash-strapped. Schools are cutting programs, and police and fire pensions are crowding out spending on core local services. Yet local governments continue to waste the money of hardworking Illinoisans. Each year local governments in Illinois make payments for a wide...

November unemployment: lower national unemployment rate masks increased joblessness

By Ted Dabrowski, John Klingner
12/07/2012
The national unemployment rate may have dropped to 7.7 percent in November from 7.9 percent in October, but the nation is making little progress on the road to a full economic recovery. Though a decrease may seem encouraging, the reality of these numbers is not: The rate dropped because more than 350,000 people left the...

Illinois legislators among highest paid in the nation

By Benjamin VanMetre
12/06/2012
The dust has settled from an uneventful veto session. No progress was made. The one attempt at reforming Illinois’ out-of-control pensions that legislators put forward is a step in the right direction, but ultimately would perpetuate the crisis by failing to prescribe the right medicine for the problem at hand. And the efforts to make things...

Veto session: legislative recap

By Matt Paprocki, Jane McEnaney
12/06/2012
There was very little legislative activity during the past two weeks of veto session in Springfield. However, several bills have been further positioned to move during special session in January, when lame duck legislators will retain voting power, even though they were voted out of office in November. The following is a recap of the...

Citizen speaks out against latest pension plan

By Chris Andriesen
12/05/2012
A member of our community sent the following email to Rep. Jack Franks (D-Woodstock), Sen. Pamela Althoff (R-Crystal Lake) and Gov. Pat Quinn. Subject: 6258 and 4% more the taxpayers will be on the hook for Mr. Franks, Ms. Althoff, Mr. Quinn, Although I agree that comprehensive pension reform must happen in Illinois, how can...

Illinois’ pension payment set to increase by another $1 billion next year

By Jonathan Ingram
12/03/2012
For the second year in a row, the state’s annual pension payment will increase by nearly $1 billion. The combined payment for all five state pension systems will increase to $6.8 billion next year, up from $5.9 billion this year. Annual payments for Illinois’ five pension systems per year, in millions Illinois ended fiscal year...
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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