Neighbor states pursue real tax reform as Pritzker offers election-year gimmicks
	Neighbor states pursue real tax reform as Pritzker offers election-year gimmicks
	
		While Illinois settles for Pritzker’s temporary relief that mostly expires after the November election, its neighbor states are making long-term changes to help grow their economies. 	
				
			By Justin Carlson
		
	 
	
	
		
		
		
		
		Gina Williams
	Gina Williams
	
		Pritzker gas taxes add to $72 fill-up to get kids to sports	
		 
	
	
		
		
		
		
		Illinois is No. 1 in government units, keeping property taxes sky high
	Illinois is No. 1 in government units, keeping property taxes sky high
	
		Illinois has 6,032 local governments, the most in the nation by a wide margin – and that excludes 859 school districts. It’s the main reason Illinoisans pay the nation’s second-highest property taxes. 	
				
			By Dylan Sharkey
		
	 
	
	
		
		
		
		
		Union power vote, population loss threaten Illinois’ labor market recovery
	Union power vote, population loss threaten Illinois’ labor market recovery
	
		Key indicators show Illinois’ labor market could begin adding jobs faster than the national economy if population decline and Amendment 1 don’t derail the state’s trajectory.	
				
			By Bryce Hill
		
	 
	
	
		
		
		
		
		Pritzker defends forcing gas station owners to put his propaganda on pumps
	Pritzker defends forcing gas station owners to put his propaganda on pumps
	
		Gov. J.B. Pritzker said making filling stations advertise his temporary gas tax suspension or pay $500 a day in fines was not forced political speech. But an association of 500 small petroleum businesses is suing because they believe otherwise. 	
				
			By Patrick Andriesen
		
	 
	
	
		
		
		
		
		Experts: highway camera bills on Pritzker’s desk ripe for abuse
	Experts: highway camera bills on Pritzker’s desk ripe for abuse
	
		Two bills on Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s desk would spend $20 million to add license plate monitoring cameras to 6,600 miles of highways in 22 counties. Civil rights groups fret about abuse. Illinois State Police can’t say they increase safety. 	
				
			By Patrick Andriesen
		
	 
	
	
		
		
		
		
		Illinois schools push district consolidation to fix teacher shortage
	Illinois schools push district consolidation to fix teacher shortage
	
		School board members in rural Illinois said district consolidation will ease staff shortages made worse by the pandemic. A statewide look at district consolidation could cut administrative overhead and put $732 million more into classrooms.	
				
			By Dylan Sharkey
		
	 
	
	
		
		
		
		
		Lightfoot reacts to record Chicago speed camera tickets with limited relief
	Lightfoot reacts to record Chicago speed camera tickets with limited relief
	
		Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced relief for low-income residents just weeks after an Illinois Policy Institute investigation found her lower threshold for speed camera tickets created more fines in 2021 than Chicago has residents. 	
				
			By Patrick Andriesen
		
	 
	
	
		
		
		
		
		Rising Illinois energy costs are legacy of Madigan’s corruption
	Rising Illinois energy costs are legacy of Madigan’s corruption
	
		Laws that go around the normal rate-setting process are driving up energy prices for Illinois consumers. These laws were central to the scandal that brought down the nation’s longest-serving House speaker. 	
		 
	
	
		
		
		
		
		Chicago ex-alderman charged with bribery might keep pension
	Chicago ex-alderman charged with bribery might keep pension
	
		Ex-Alderman Danny Solis handed federal prosecutors the top politicians in Chicago and the Statehouse to get out of bribery charges. His deal could let him keep his pension – a ploy too common in Illinois as voters consider Amendment 1’s potential for protecting pension abuse.	
				
			By Justin Carlson
		
	 
	
	
		
		
		
		
		Lightfoot orders her name on $12.5M in gas, transit cards
	Lightfoot orders her name on $12.5M in gas, transit cards
	
		Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s name will be on 150,000 prepaid gas and transit cards she plans to raffle off to Chicagoans. She’s trying again after aldermen initially rejected the $12.5 million proposal as an election stunt.	
				
			By Patrick Andriesen