Updated budget forecasts show a $982 million shortfall for the upcoming 2025 budget as Chicago grapples with $223 million remaining deficit this year. Mayor Brandon Johnson refuses to rule out property tax hikes.
Chicago teachers were handed a union without the ability to choose for themselves. It’s the result of a system that props up government unions at the expense of the members they are supposed to serve.
Nearly 2 million Illinoisans – or nearly 1-in-6 state residents – received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits in May 2024. Illinois ranked No. 9 in the nation for highest rate of federal food help.
Chicagoans experienced 7.2% more violent crime between August 2023 and July 204, with cases of robbery, aggravated assault and aggravated battery at five-year highs.
Despite Illinois’ job market outpacing the national average, all 15 metro areas continue to have higher unemployment rates than the national average.
It may be based in Chicago, but the Chicago Teachers Union’s lobbying affects residents throughout Illinois. The Illinois General Assembly did CTU’s bidding on 60% of the bills on which the union took a stance last session. CTU discontent is growing.
Illinois’ statewide grocery tax is on its way out, but your local government may add its own. Highland, Illinois, could be the first to do so.
Black and Hispanic students are around six times more likely to be proficient in reading at selective enrollment high schools compared to traditional public schools in Chicago. But the Chicago Teachers Union wants to eliminate these schools that are a lifeline to the city’s minority students.
Illinois is cutting the statewide grocery tax, but some local governments may reestablish it. One Chicago suburb is already moving in that direction. Its neighbor will let taxpayers keep their grocery money.
Illinois lawmakers changed the rules about placing candidates on the ballot in the middle of an election cycle. A judge said they can’t do that and the Illinois Supreme Court dropped the state’s appeal. Now voters will have more choices Nov. 5.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s budget includes $250,000 for a group advocating for increased government spending and higher taxes. He gave the group money last year, too.
Clean-up efforts for the Democratic National Convention included putting Chicago’s homeless in hotels used as temporary shelters. Though the celebrity-filled week has ended, this affordable housing approach should be expanded.