Springfield couldn’t bail out Chicago Public Schools even if it wanted to

By Ted Dabrowski

02/05/2016

State-run teacher pensions have a shortfall of $37,000 per student, while Chicago's shortfall totals $24,000.

TAGS: Chicago, CPS: Chicago Public Schools, education, pensions

Steps and lanes: Understanding how Chicago public school teachers get multiple pay raises each year

By Ted Dabrowski, John Klingner

02/03/2016

Chicago teachers’ salaries are based on a complex and convoluted system that has provided teachers with annual pay increases well in excess of the 2.75 to 3 percent raises proposed by the district.

TAGS: Chicago, CPS: Chicago Public Schools

5 reasons why Chicago can’t afford to get steamrolled by another CTU contract

By Ted Dabrowski

02/01/2016

CPS is broke. To preserve funding for the classroom and Chicago's children, and to keep CPS from going belly up, CPS officials must broker significant concessions from the union.

TAGS: Chicago, CPS: Chicago Public Schools, pensions

CTU president concedes possibility of CPS ending annual multimillion-dollar practice of teacher ‘pension pickups’

By Ted Dabrowski

01/22/2016

CTU President Karen Lewis has acknowledged that CPS is in dire straits – and that her union may have to make concessions in contract negotiations, including ending the practice of the school district – meaning taxpayers – picking up the majority of teacher contributions toward pensions, which has cost $1.3 billion since 2006.

TAGS: CPS: Chicago Public Schools, CTU: Chicago Teachers Union

Under Illinois law, CTU must wait 4 months to strike after mediation fails

By Jeffrey Schwab

11/11/2015

The Chicago Teachers Union cannot legally strike before completing several procedural steps, which would take four months following failed mediation with Chicago Public Schools; however, the union could flout the law and strike sooner in the hope of pressuring Chicago Public Schools to reach a deal quickly.

TAGS: strike

CPS to ask employees to contribute their fair share to their pensions

By Ted Dabrowski

08/12/2015

Chicago Public Schools CEO Forrest Claypool calls for an end to “pickups” of employee pension contributions, which would save the cash-strapped district $174 million a year.

CTU president Karen Lewis calls employee-pension contribution issue “strike-worthy”

By Ted Dabrowski

08/10/2015

The president of the Chicago Teachers Union defied the school board to require teachers to pay more of their own retirement costs.

TAGS: Chicago, CTPF: Chicago Teachers Pension Fund, Fitch Ratings, Karen Lewis, strike

Growing tax burden will push people out of Cook County and Chicago

By Ted Dabrowski, John Klingner

07/15/2015

City officials are pushing property-tax hikes, sales-tax hikes, and even a commuter tax and financial-transaction tax.

TAGS: sales tax

Mayor Emanuel’s minimum wage executive order doesn’t apply to political pals

By Brian Costin

10/11/2014

With great fanfare, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel recently announced an executive order requiring city contractors and concessionaires to pay their employees no less than $13 per hour. The move was highly touted in both the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune, as well as a number of other publications and television news broadcasts. None of these...

TAGS: Rahm Emanuel, transparency, unions

Good politics makes bad policy on Emanuel minimum-wage hike

By Jane McEnaney

09/12/2014

On Sept. 3, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel signed an executive order requiring city contractors to immediately hike wages for the city workers they employ to $13 per hour from the current rate of $11.93 per hour. The current rate is already nearly 45 percent higher than the statewide minimum wage of $8.25 per hour. Illinoisans...

TAGS: Chicago, minimum wage, Rahm Emanuel

Karen Lewis

Springfield couldn’t bail out Chicago Public Schools even if it wanted to

Steps and lanes: Understanding how Chicago public school teachers get multiple pay raises each year

5 reasons why Chicago can’t afford to get steamrolled by another CTU contract

CTU president concedes possibility of CPS ending annual multimillion-dollar practice of teacher ‘pension pickups’

Under Illinois law, CTU must wait 4 months to strike after mediation fails

CPS to ask employees to contribute their fair share to their pensions

CTU president Karen Lewis calls employee-pension contribution issue “strike-worthy”

Growing tax burden will push people out of Cook County and Chicago

Mayor Emanuel’s minimum wage executive order doesn’t apply to political pals

Good politics makes bad policy on Emanuel minimum-wage hike

Chicago Forward 2026: A pro-growth plan to end city budget deficits

Report Archive

Diana Graham

Process for unionizing non-state workers raises red flags

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