With more than 755,000 Illinoisans out of work, state employees are still scheduled to get their automatic raises. Gov. J.B. Pritzker is treating those raises as non-negotiable. Governors in other states would disagree.
The governor is poised to continually issue disaster proclamations to extend his emergency powers during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the General Assembly has a role to play in the crisis, too.
Farmers have always proven resilient and ultimately will survive the virus and anything state government lobs at them.
Illinois’ taxes and fees on gasoline keep the pump price high, even when oil producers are paying for someone to take excess crude. The state gas tax is set to rise again in July.
Two decades of fiscal mismanagement have left state finances ill-prepared for the COVID-19 pandemic. Congress should condition any additional aid for troubled states on taxpayer protections that ensure pensions are solvent, accounting is realistic and budgets are balanced.
As Illinois teeters on the edge of a junk credit rating, one key policymaker is floating bankruptcy as a solution.
An illegal patronage operation brought on federal oversight when Karen Yarbrough was Cook County’s recorder of deeds. It’s happened again to her as county clerk.
The state is attempting to shore up its supply of personal protection equipment, but received millions of masks the state health department recommended only using in a crisis.
State sheds 34,100 jobs during early stages of COVID-19 economic fallout.
“The state was very unprepared for this PPE shortage. And it really is a state issue on this. Where’s their stockpile? I don’t see it. Even the health departments don’t have a lot to give you."
Illinoisans shoulder among the highest tax burdens of any state, and that should come with robust services. But soaring debt and pension costs have left too little room for the things residents need most from government.
Despite a massive national economic contraction, Pritzker is resisting calls to pull a large tax hike from the November ballot.