Illinois’ excise tax on wine is more than 4 times higher than the same bottle in New York or California. Buying in Chicago adds extra tax layers, hitting 6 times the taxes of other big cities.
House Bill 4417 requires an annual “Workplace Readiness Week” in all Illinois high schools, which focuses not on getting kids ready for jobs but on the labor movement’s role in the workplace.
Chicago Public Schools Inspector General’s report showed 77,505 devices were lost or stolen during the 2021-2022 school year. At 36 schools, every single student device was gone.
At a press conference, a new alliance said failure to address Chicago’s pension problems will threaten public services, fail retirees and push taxes higher so more people are encouraged to leave Illinois.
Bally’s temporary casino in Medinah Temple handed Chicago $3 million since its opening in September, $9.6 million below original projections.
This edition of The Policy Shop is by Director of Fiscal and Economic Research Bryce Hill. Illinois leaders question whether Illinois was a loser in 2020, but it certainly is a loser now. Population deniers in Springfield, cheered on by Gov. J.B. Pritzker, claimed from the start Illinois did not lose population in the decade...
Chicago's public pension crisis is the target of a new group called the Taxpayer Pension Alliance, which includes the Illinois Policy Institute. The alliance's launch included this statement by the institute's head of policy.
They call it a “mansion tax” that can “Bring Chicago Home,” but those are false labels that hide a tax threat to the city’s economic health. There are better ways to create affordable housing and help homeless Chicagoans.
Chicago’s status as the nation’s murder capital was retained in 2023. So, what are city leaders doing about it? Cutting cops.
Illinois’ base population total is larger than previously predicted after the U.S. Census discovered it had missed people in group quarters. But the change shouldn’t lull politicians into thinking taxes and other policies didn’t drive 364,443 people away.
The Chicago Board of Education is preparing to remove police officers from public high schools. Local School Councils already have the power to remove officers, but district leaders are taking away that local control.