Government-worker unions can negotiate for months or even years without reaching a new contract, and can use negotiations to push for even cushier perks from pricier health insurance to paid time off for birthdays.
The longtime House majority leader will benefit from a sweetener provision that grants massive pension spikes to career lawmakers after one year of retirement.
In his 17th term leading the Illinois House of Representatives, Madigan has broken the record as the longest-serving House speaker in modern U.S. history.
Illinoisans already pay some of the highest taxes in the nation, including high taxes at the pump.
The new law will transfer the burden of proof to law enforcement in forfeiture proceedings.
Illinois will need more foreign investment, and major reforms to the state’s business climate, in order to get off the weak economic path it now treads.
A controversial but politically popular tax credit program will be extended until June 2022 under a bill signed by Gov. Bruce Rauner.
DC Comics and the Metropolis Chamber of Commerce designated Metropolis, Illinois, as Superman’s hometown in 1972.
A bipartisan group of federal lawmakers, including members of the House Progressive and House Freedom caucuses, have put forth a measure to limit the use of federal dollars in certain civil asset forfeiture proceedings.
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan will not seek to extend her record as the longest-serving attorney general in Illinois history. Her father has remained Springfield’s most powerful state legislative leader throughout her tenure.
Illinois universities are blaming the recent budget impasse for their declining enrollment and financial problems. But the problems in higher education started long before the budget fight, and are largely self-inflicted.
The state’s August jobs numbers were poor across the board, but especially sobering for manufacturing.