Chicago’s mayor wanted police either vaccinated against COVID-19 or regularly tested, but the pushback from their union has received two recent legal advances.
Property taxes are the real thieves attacking the house used in the holiday movie ‘Home Alone.’ The house is available for a one-night stay this holiday, but not all taxes are included.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a bill to consolidate local police and firefighter pensions from across downstate Illinois, but beneficiaries are suing because the state is notorious for poor pension management.
Legal marijuana has seen nine consecutive months tally at least $100 million in Illinois sales. The state is on pace to double the previous year and exceed $1.5 billion in sales. Still, Illinois’ illegal market churns out higher sales and violence.
Illinois is ending its debit card option and going to paper checks for unemployment benefits, unless recipients arrange for direct deposit. The state has yet to address a $5.8 billion deficit in the unemployment fund.
New COVID-19 cases have surged across Illinois, leading some state leaders to question why the only state east of the Mississippi with a universal mask mandate is seeing worse case rates than those without a mandate.
The pandemic caused the largest and shortest economic contraction in U.S. history. But as other states recovered, Illinois’ economy remained $17 billion below the pre-pandemic trend through the first half of 2021.
“The tax credit scholarship program has enabled so many families that want to come to St. Jude to be able to do it financially. I think that’s the most important impact that the program has had."
A solid education and satisfying employment will go a long way toward reducing crime in Illinois. State lawmakers already have a solution in place, but it needs a boost.
Lots of Illinois students missed lots of school during 2021, meaning state test scores suffered. Chronic truancy led to drops across demographics.
Chicago Public Schools will increase testing and give unvaccinated students a chance to test out of quarantine after exposure to COVID-19. Administrators are bracing for the omicron variant
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the congressional district map designed to boost Democrats in the U.S. House. With districts that snake and twist across the state, gerrymandering remains a hallmark of Illinois politics despite Pritzker’s pledge to veto such maps.