Illinois school districts spent $1 billion on district-level administration in fiscal year 2014 – more than any other state.
The new laws will make it easier for ex-offenders re-enter their communities.
House Bill 3803 changes Illinois’ criminal code so that people on parole and probation no longer have to fear arrest for merely having contact with gang members.
Alderman Ed Burke argued in favor of a ban on driverless cars with a movie clip from “Back to the Future.”
The Harvey, Illinois, firefighters’ nearly bankrupt pension fund makes up just one part of Illinois’ combined $267 billion in state and local pension liabilities.
House Bill 2622 would create a state-run workers’ compensation insurance company, while failing to address the real problems with Illinois’ workers’ compensation system – the most expensive in the region.
Since 2006, Chicago Public Schools has been deprived of $2.5 billion in property tax revenue that has been diverted to Chicago TIF districts.
After threatening thousands of job cuts, President Preckwinkle agrees to a lucrative contract with one of Cook County’s unions.
Illinois’ largest government worker union is likely stalling contract negotiations in hopes of dealing with a new governor in 2019.
Committee meetings are a critical step in the legislative process, yet aldermen skip them almost half the time.
Substantive ordinances make up less than 2 percent of all legislation considered by the current City Council over the past two years.
School funding is locked up due to the current fight in Springfield over the state’s new education funding formula and the bailout of Chicago Public Schools it contains.