Tom Cross

Spring 2011 Legislative Session Summary

06/01/2011
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...

Defusing the Pension Bomb: A Proposal to Save Illinois

By Chris Andriesen
05/11/2011
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...

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

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...

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Diana Graham

Process for unionizing non-state workers raises red flags

By Paul Kersey
06/19/2014

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

By Ted Dabrowski
05/02/2016