AFSCME promised to play nice at the negotiating table with Gov. Rauner, but it never intended to keep that promise. The union is doing everything it can to muscle the state’s taxpayers into an outside arbitration process that will practically guarantee that AFSCME’s unreasonable demands are met.
Illinois is one of four states in the entire U.S. to have fewer private sector jobs today compared to the turn of the century. The Land of Lincoln needs pro-growth reforms to allow the state’s private sector to rise again.
Illinois motorists have paid more than $6.5 million this year for failing to renew vehicle license plates on time, more than double the amount collected in the same four-month span last year.
April saw nearly half the large layoffs March brought, and showed few major layoffs in the manufacturing sector.
The testimony of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees before the Illinois Labor Relations Board and the union’s refusal to compromise on any contract provisions reveal that AFSCME and Gov. Bruce Rauner have reached impasse.
The Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s relative health compared with other government-worker pension funds is only due to its ability to force localities to fund it at the expense of other pension funds and vital local services.
Madigan has been in office since 1971 and has served as Illinois House speaker for 31 of the past 33 years.
Illinois lawmakers can learn valuable lessons from states that have protected essential government services from swings in the economy.
According to the Illinois Department of Revenue the progressive tax would've cost Illinois 20,000 private-sector jobs, 43,000 residents to other states on net, and $1.9 billion in GDP over the first four years.
Caterpillar’s plans to bring new jobs to Arizona demonstrate how Illinois politicians’ planned tax hikes and failure to make needed regulatory reforms harm the state’s manufacturing sector.
The Illinois Department of Revenue has projected losses of 20,000 private-sector jobs, 43,000 residents to other states on net, and $1.9 billion in GDP in the first four years of a progressive tax.