Airbnb has reported that about 4,800 Chicagoans are Airbnb hosts, and they earn an average of $5,300 per year renting out their homes through the service.
Most people expect Illinois law enforcement to defend the private property of Illinois residents. As long as you obey the law, your life, liberty and property should be secure from the law – or so common sense would suggest. Yet, every year, Illinois law enforcement agencies take tens of millions of dollars in cash, vehicles,...
Illinois households are now on the hook for $27,000, up 17 percent from 2015.
More than 6,000 Illinois manufacturing jobs disappeared in 2015.
Negotiations between Illinois and AFSCME – the state’s largest government-worker union – languished for months. While AFSCME demanded contract benefits that would cost the state $3 billion in additional salary and benefit increases, Gov. Bruce Rauner offered a contract that treats state workers fairly and avoids further burdening taxpayers. On Nov. 15, the Illinois Labor Relations Board issued a decision that prevents AFSCME from obstructing progress on an agreement.
IRS data show the average income of taxpayers leaving Illinois surpassed the average income of taxpayers entering the state by $20,000 in 2014, a record loss for Illinois in the wake of the 2011 income-tax hike.
An otherwise ordinary fall day turned joyous on Sept. 24, 2015. Dozens of food-cart street vendors rallied at Chicago City Hall to show support for an ordinance that would legalize the vendors’ trade. Approximately 1,500 food carts – beloved by their communities in Chicago’s predominantly Hispanic neighborhoods – had operated in an underground economy for...
Pepe Balanzar learned to make tamales from his grandmother. Growing up in the restaurant business, she would make one batch for selling and one batch for family. The family batch had more meat, more “masa,” or dough, and more flavor. So when Balanzar opened Chicago’s first food truck, he had to choose a side: Which...
The Nov. 8 election saw Madigan lose his supermajority in the Illinois General Assembly. Now, two Democrats are calling on the speaker to present his solution set for a state in fiscal crisis before pledging to vote for his re-election as House speaker.
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees claims to be seeking a “fair contract” on behalf of Illinois state workers. But the power and influence exerted by the state’s largest government-worker union means the bargaining table almost always tilts in AFSCME’s favor. The reality is that AFSCME is the power player in negotiations...
The outcome of 2016 races in nearby states may result in all states surrounding Illinois becoming Right-to-Work states – leaving Illinois a lone island in a sea of worker freedom. To remain competitive for workers and business, Illinois must consider similar reforms.
Illinois will spend $1 billion more on annual debt payments than it will on human services in fiscal year 2017.