Illinois has finally recovered from the job losses suffered during the Great Recession, and its workforce continues to grow. But the state’s unemployment rate is also increasing, signaling that while the economy is recovering, it is still unable to meet the demands of a growing number of job seekers.
Even with the city’s record tax hike and massive borrowing, lack of reform means Chicagoans can expect to open up their wallets yet again.
The governor can exercise the veto power in four different ways: a total veto, an amendatory veto, an item veto and a reduction veto.
While striking down modest reforms to Chicago city-worker pensions, the Illinois Supreme Court has effectively given state lawmakers the green light on other avenues for pension reform.
Without a job, an ex-offender is likely to re-enter the system. Finding work breaks that cycle. Illinois needs major re-entry reforms that remove barriers to employment and work – and give ex-offenders a chance at success.
A new poll conducted by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute in February 2016 reveals that a clear majority of voters – including 55 percent of Democrats and 51 percent of union members – support or lean toward supporting Right-to-Work laws.
The combined federal, state, county and city taxes on alcohol result in a 28 percent effective tax rate on a bottle of spirits bought in Chicago.
“Chicago has a curse on it. “I’ve been praying to God: Please get me and my children out of this city. And you know what? A lot of folks at our church have moved to Indiana. A lot of them have moved to Texas, too … “It’s just a vicious cycle here. “You hear so...
HB 5973 would remove significant occupational-licensing barriers that make it harder for former offenders to support themselves and their families.
By reducing the licensing requirements that make it harder for people to enter many professions, Illinois could give more people access to jobs, bring down the cost of goods and services through increased competition, and attract more workers to the state.
“The gang initiation happened when I was 12 years old. That was my fist experience with drug and alcohol abuse, and from that day until I was 28 I struggled with addiction. “In spite of that struggle I was still the president of my grammar school and my high school, and I started my career...