Governments in Illinois can take your property without charging you with a crime

By Jeffrey Schwab, Bryant Jackson-Green

03/29/2016

A court decision involving the government’s seizure of more than $270,000 from two Chicagoans highlights major problems with civil asset forfeiture.

TAGS: civil asset forfeiture, criminal justice reform

61% of Illinois voters support Right to Work, poll finds

By Mailee Smith

03/23/2016

A new poll conducted by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute in February 2016 reveals that a clear majority of voters – including 55 percent of Democrats and 51 percent of union members – support or lean toward supporting Right-to-Work laws.

TAGS: right to work

Illinois lost 56 manufacturing jobs per workday in 2015

By Michael Lucci

02/22/2016

Though neighboring and Great Lakes states added a combined 200 factory jobs per workday on net in 2015, an average of 56 Illinois manufacturing workers, on net, received pink slips each workday during the same time.

TAGS: manufacturing

Pensions 101: Understanding Illinois’ massive, government-worker pension crisis

By Ted Dabrowski, John Klingner

02/03/2016

The crisis threatens to burden taxpayers with massive, ever-escalating taxes to bail out a system that is not sustainable – government-worker pensions consume a fourth of the state’s budget.

Pennsylvania close to passing Illinois as 5th-largest state in U.S. for jobs and population

By Michael Lucci

01/29/2016

Unlike Illinois, Pennsylvania has actually recovered the number of jobs it lost during the Great Recession, and now has 40,000 more jobs than it had at its pre-recession peak. Illinois, on the other hand, still has 90,000 fewer jobs than it had before the recession, the worst jobs recovery in the U.S.

TAGS: jobs, manufacturing, outmigration, population

Illinois only state among neighboring and Great Lake states to lose jobs in 2015

By Michael Lucci

01/26/2016

Illinois lost 3,000 jobs on net in 2015, while other neighboring and Great Lakes manufacturing states all gained tens of thousands of jobs on net for the year.

TAGS: BLS: Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs, manufacturing, unemployment

To fix education funding, Cullerton should focus on reforming pensions

By Ted Dabrowski

01/26/2016

From 2009 to 2014, the state added $8.9 billion in new tax dollars to the education budget, over and above the base amount of $6.8 billion it spent in 2009. Of those new dollars spent, 89 percent went to retirement costs and just 11 percent made it to classrooms.

TAGS: John Cullerton

Illinois lost 16,300 jobs on net in December 2015, down 3,000 jobs on the year

By Michael Lucci

01/23/2016

The state unemployment rate jumped to 5.9 percent from 5.7 percent, driven by an increase of 18,300 Illinoisans who are unemployed. Illinois also has 178,000 fewer people working compared to before the Great Recession.

TAGS: IDES: Illinois Department of Employment Security, jobs, unemployment

Rauner making moves on pension reform

By Ted Dabrowski

01/21/2016

On Jan. 21 Gov. Bruce Rauner reignited reform talks surrounding Illinois’ worst-in-the-nation pension crisis.

TAGS: pensions

2011 workers’ compensation reform

By Mark Adams

01/02/2016

Part 3 of Illinois’ broken workers’ compensation system: the major components of the 2011 reform

TAGS: workers compensation

Michigan

Governments in Illinois can take your property without charging you with a crime

61% of Illinois voters support Right to Work, poll finds

Illinois lost 56 manufacturing jobs per workday in 2015

Pensions 101: Understanding Illinois’ massive, government-worker pension crisis

Pennsylvania close to passing Illinois as 5th-largest state in U.S. for jobs and population

Illinois only state among neighboring and Great Lake states to lose jobs in 2015

To fix education funding, Cullerton should focus on reforming pensions

Illinois lost 16,300 jobs on net in December 2015, down 3,000 jobs on the year

Rauner making moves on pension reform

2011 workers’ compensation reform

Taxed out: 10 reforms to stop Illinois from losing people and jobs

Report Archive

Take advantage of the various ways to vote

Process for unionizing non-state workers raises red flags

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