Walmart

Illinois’ median wage has collapsed by $12,000 since 1999

By Michael Lucci
09/02/2014
Illinois has long been known as a high-income state, but that‘s changed for many families in the middle. After decades of policy mistakes, the backbone of the state – Illinois’ middle class – has been hollowed out. Throughout Illinois’ history, innovation and high employment led to high incomes, making the Land of Lincoln a wealthy...

TAGS: jobs, median wage

“Urging” versus coercion in anti-smoking campaigns

By Bryant Jackson-Green
04/02/2014
Earlier this month, 28 attorneys general, including Illinois’ Lisa Madigan, sent a letter to major convenience retailers including Rite Aid, Walmart and Walgreens, urging them to stop selling tobacco products in their stores. This came shortly after CVS voluntarily announced that it would completely phase out sales of tobacco products by October 2014. Madigan and...

Illinois and Chicago’s pattern of cronyism and corporate handouts

By Justin Hegy
09/17/2013
Instead of creating a business-friendly environment by keeping taxes and regulations low, Illinois state government and the city of Chicago have a laundry list of special tools they claim promote economic development. These tools include: tax increment financing, or TIF, districts; economic grants; and a series of loopholes in the tax code. When government gives...

TAGS: cronyism

If ‘food deserts’ are a problem, blame Chicago politicians

09/03/2013
The Chicago Tribune ran a front-page story lamenting Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s failure to eliminate food deserts in Chicago. A food desert is an area in which residents allegedly lack easy access to supermarkets that offer fresh produce. The exact definition varies depending on who you ask and when – the city used to consider areas without a...

TAGS: Chicago, Rahm Emanuel

Twinkies and the bakers union: don’t call it a comeback

07/13/2013
by Paul Kersey Plans to reopen Hostess Brands bakeries, including one in the Chicago suburb of Schiller Park, are going forward. The company has announced that the Twinkie will make its glorious return on July 15. But while the reorganized Hostess is making what it calls “the sweetest comeback in the history of ever,” the bakers...

Purchases from Wal-Mart and Kmart

01/31/2010
by Amanda Griffin-Johnson Using our transparency website, IllinoisOpenGov.org, I found that between 2008 and our FOIA request in 2009, state agencies spent $47,261.77 at Kmart and $27,135.15 at Wal-Mart. In 2008, the Department of Corrections spent the most with $3,165 at Kmart and $1,625 at Wal-Mart. In 2009, the Department of Children and Family Services...

Chicago Forward 2026: A pro-growth plan to end city budget deficits

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.

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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