Out of 90 Midwestern metropolitan areas, Illinois has four in the bottom 10 for new housing per capita in 2023. Housing affordability is directly linked to getting units built.
If Illinois groups could come together to bring the same enthusiasm and support to a constitutional amendment, the state could fix its pension problem once and for all.
Nashville Community High School District 99’s superintendent received a $63,540 bonus after retiring amid a backlash caused by a controversial column in a local newspaper.
The problem At the end of fiscal year 2013, Illinois had accumulated more than $100 billion in state pension debt. Although the General Assembly enacted Senate Bill 1 in December 2013, the bill will – at best – reduce the unfunded liability to $80 billion, roughly where it was during the pension crisis in 2011....
by Ted Dabrowski* With a bill that blocks the authorization of any new virtual charter schools, state Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia, D-Aurora, aims to slow Illinois’ move into the 21st century. Her law, House Bill 494, calls for a one-year moratorium “on the establishment of charter schools with virtual-schooling components in school districts other than [Chicago...
The Problem Illinois has fallen behind its neighbors in offering alternatives to students outside major population centers. All children deserve the chance at a brighter future with schools that work best for them. Where choice in education is available, parents respond. Most downstate and suburban parents have few alternatives to their local public schools. A...
This three-part series by the Illinois Policy Institute specifically focuses on the impact rising retirement costs will have on education funding at various levels.
The problem Illinois is facing a fiscal crisis. The expense of retirement benefits is overwhelming many areas of the state budget. Lawmakers have known of this situation for years, but thus far have not adopted a comprehensive solution. The state faces an $85 billion unfunded liability to its pensions systems. It owes another $45 billion...
Summary This report focuses on the seven downstate and suburban charter schools that enrolled K-12 students during the 2009-10 school year. Charter schools that focus exclusively on reenrolling high school dropouts are excluded from the analysis. Also not included in the analysis are Peoria’s Quest Academy, Rockford’s CICS Patriots Charter School and Southland College Prep,...
Chicago’s $1.15 billion projected budget gap is the latest in a decades-long string of structural deficits. Making Chicago’s high taxes worse is not the solution.