Three things to know three years later about the end of cash bail in Chicago

By Joe Tabor, Riya Kapoor

09/18/2026

Reforms could diminish the risk of new crimes committed on pretrial release.

TAGS: SAFE-T Act

Pritzker budget includes new tax on online fantasy sports

By Riya Kapoor

09/17/2026

The budget awaiting his signature also imposes licensing fees on operators.

TAGS: JB Pritzker

Thanks to gerrymandering, over 90% of recently passed bills in Illinois were sponsored by one party 

By Lilly Rossi

07/31/2026

Partisan politics is a big player in the Illinois Capitol. The state needs real redistricting reform to increase competition, expand representation and strengthen accountability.

Chicago one of only two big cities without mayoral, city council term limits

By Grace Hansen

07/01/2026

A city charter could impose them. All other big cities have one

Chicago Teachers Union-style political agenda may come to your school district

By Mailee Smith

06/25/2026

Teacher contracts expire this year in at least 60 districts represented by the Illinois Federation of Teachers — run by CTU President Stacy Davis Gates.

TAGS: CTU: Chicago Teachers Union

Vallas: Pritzker signs a budget giving Illinois tax hikes, higher spending

By Paul Vallas

06/17/2026

Eight years of the governor’s budgets have exposed the cost of spending-driven budgeting and repeated tax hikes.

TAGS: JB Pritzker

Pritzker to decide whether Illinois students receive $1 billion from private donations

By Lilly Rossi

06/16/2026

The decision to opt Illinois into the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit program rests with the governor.

Pathway to a Profession: How Apprenticeships Could Reshape Illinois’ Beauty Service Industry

By Patrick Andriesen

05/28/2026

Occupational licensing requirements present one of the steepest barriers to low-income Illinoisans starting careers in beauty services. Illinois requires anyone seeking to become a barber, cosmetologist, nail technician or hair braider to obtain a state license, essentially a permission slip to work. Unlike 45 other states, Illinois offers only one pathway to licensure for each...

At least 5 Democratic states are opting into the FSTC. What’s holding up Pritzker?

By Lilly Rossi

05/18/2026

At least 31 states have said they plan to opt into the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit program.

TAGS: JB Pritzker

Illinois combined state, local tax rate tops the country

By Brennan Park

05/13/2026

The amount of state and local taxes paid here also is near the nation’s highest.

New York

Three things to know three years later about the end of cash bail in Chicago

Pritzker budget includes new tax on online fantasy sports

Thanks to gerrymandering, over 90% of recently passed bills in Illinois were sponsored by one party

Chicago one of only two big cities without mayoral, city council term limits

Chicago Teachers Union-style political agenda may come to your school district

Vallas: Pritzker signs a budget giving Illinois tax hikes, higher spending

Pritzker to decide whether Illinois students receive $1 billion from private donations

Pathway to a Profession: How Apprenticeships Could Reshape Illinois’ Beauty Service Industry

At least 5 Democratic states are opting into the FSTC. What’s holding up Pritzker?

Illinois combined state, local tax rate tops the country

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