Corruption watch: March 2015

By Shawn Tonge

04/08/2015

April showers bring May flowers, but all March gave us was 53 new corruption stories in Illinois.

Act locally: Right-to-Work zones can spark IL comeback

By Michael Lucci

02/02/2015

For Illinois’ downstate communities that have felt the pain of out-migration and need to revitalize their industrial base, a local Right-to-Work ordinance can be their first step to a comeback.

TAGS: jobs, labor, right to work, unions

Brief details crushing weight of pension costs for Illinois municipalities

By Benjamin VanMetre

01/15/2015

More than 20 police and 10 fire pension funds were less than 30 percent funded in 2012.

TAGS: budget, IML: Illinois Municipal League, municipal government, taxes

Governor Bruce Rauner Inaugural Speech

01/13/2015

A transcript of Governor Bruce Rauner's Inauguration speech on January 12, 2014.

TAGS: Bruce Rauner

Monmouth slated to hike property taxes to fund pensions

By Benjamin VanMetre

12/03/2014

Cities across Illinois have been forced to slash services and hike taxes to make room in the budget for pension costs.

Record 1.05 million Illinois households on food stamps this Thanksgiving

By Michael Lucci

11/30/2014

More and more households becoming dependent on food stamps reveals the true impact of Illinois’ sputtering economy.

TAGS: food stamps, jobs

Illinois employers warn of 900 layoffs

By Austin Berg

11/08/2014

Exactly 900 more Illinoisans can expect to be laid off in coming months, according to notices filed with the state.

TAGS: jobs

7 of 10 Illinois metro areas are not recovering at all

By Michael Lucci

11/03/2014

Unemployment rates fell for most of Illinois’ metropolitan statistical areas in September, according to a press release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, seven out of 10 Illinois metro areas are not showing any signs of an economic recovery when it comes to putting people back to work. Champaign, Chicago and Springfield are showing...

TAGS: Chicago, jobs

Illinois Corruption Watch, October 2014

By Brian Costin

11/01/2014

In October, we found 52 different stories of potential public corruption in Illinois, including a trio of stories related to the election. An Illinois Policy investigation into emails from a group of Kankakee County superintendents revealed potentially illegal activities to pass a countywide sales-tax hike for school facilities. Documents obtained suggest illegal actions by superintendents...

TAGS: good government, waste

Judge OKs Peoria SWAT raid over parody Twitter account

By Bryant Jackson-Green

10/03/2014

If someone made fun of you on Twitter, how would you respond? If you’re Peoria, Illinois, Mayor Jim Ardis, you just pressure the police to raid the prankster’s home; and apparently the courts will back you up. Back in March, Jon Daniel of Peoria created the Twitter account “@peoriamayor” from which he sent out a...

Peoria

Corruption watch: March 2015

Act locally: Right-to-Work zones can spark IL comeback

Brief details crushing weight of pension costs for Illinois municipalities

Governor Bruce Rauner Inaugural Speech

Monmouth slated to hike property taxes to fund pensions

Record 1.05 million Illinois households on food stamps this Thanksgiving

Illinois employers warn of 900 layoffs

7 of 10 Illinois metro areas are not recovering at all

Illinois Corruption Watch, October 2014

Judge OKs Peoria SWAT raid over parody Twitter account

What is the Education Freedom Tax Credit and how can it benefit Illinois students?

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