by Collin Hitt The General Assembly has adjourned for the summer. A budget was passed that contained real cuts, but it was still too big. Significant school reform sits on the governor’s desk. Illinois government will be more transparent. And yet so much more remains to be done. Here are the highlights of the spring...
The Problem Illinois hasn’t saved enough money to fund the pensions promised to government employees who are in or near retirement. Official estimates calculate Illinois’s unfunded pension liability at $86 billion, while other academic studies put the real problem north of $210 billion. Bold action is needed to balance the state’s pension funds while keeping...
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.