Newly released census data show 89 of Illinois’ 102 counties, and most of the state’s metro areas, have shrinking populations due to out-migration.
“I thought I would never go back into a factory job. “Because where [Hoist Liftruck] started out in Bedford Park, I was there when I was 18 years old with a different outfit. And it was weird that I went back … right back into busting knuckles again. “It’s a lot cheaper in Indiana. Everything’s...
In 2010, the unfunded debt related to pensions and retiree health care costs for local and state government workers across Illinois was $203 billion, the equivalent of more than $43,000 per household. In just six years, the total debt Illinois households are on the hook for has jumped to $56,000, or 31 percent. That’s a $13,000 increase for each household. Total unfunded debt for state and local governments in Illinois now totals $267 billion.
Physician-dispensed drugs account for more than 60 percent of the cost of prescriptions covered by workers’ comp in Illinois.
A spokeswoman for the governor said the measure would cut overtime costs and help reduce the state’s corrections budget.
Under state Rep. Kelly Cassidy’s proposal, Illinoisans age 21 and older could legally possess, manufacture and sell marijuana.
State and local tax hikes in Illinois have hurt economic growth, lowered the standard of living, and contributed to out-migration.
Proposed legislation to commemorate former President Barack Obama’s birthday as a state holiday in Illinois would have cost taxpayers nearly $20 million in state personnel expenses and lost productivity.
The Illinois Supreme Court refused to hear Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s request to stop state employees from getting paid until a budget is passed.
Negotiations between government-worker unions and governing bodies are conducted behind closed doors, away from public scrutiny. And yet taxpayers are required to pay for whatever extravagant benefits the unions obtain. Recently a bill in the General Assembly would have brought more transparency – and accountability – to the process, but it failed to make it out of committee.
As state debts mount and budget plans remain in limbo, Illinois lawmakers move to expand EDGE tax credits.
Judge Garcia points to the lack of a budget as reason enough to delay payments to legislators.
Through collective bargaining agreements with the state, government-worker unions require access to workers’ social security numbers – even if those workers are not members of the union. A bill protecting worker privacy recently failed to get enough votes to pass out of committee.