Despite statewide job gains in June, eight of Illinois’ metro areas lost jobs for the month. Most areas still haven’t recovered to pre-pandemic job levels.
Iowa, Missouri, Ohio and Tennessee are all having back-to-school sales tax holidays. Not Illinois, where state leaders saw the need during the 2022 election.
This edition of The Policy Shop is brought to you by Director of Fiscal and Economic Research Bryce Hill. Three years ago, Illinois state lawmakers wrote to Washington, D.C., asking for a favor. Nothing major. Just $40 billion. A cool $10 billion to bail out state and local public pensions, plus extra to prop up...
Illinois dispensaries sold $136 million in marijuana during June, the highest of the year and third-best month ever for cannabis sales.
Since 2010, teachers unions have funneled nearly $20 million to current lawmakers in the Illinois General Assembly, with the Chicago Teachers Union alone spending over $1.25 million.
Chicago Public Schools has a school utilization problem. Over 34% are less than half full, 57% are underutilized, and 5% are overcrowded. Just 35% are at ideal capacity. The Chicago Teachers Union is preventing solutions.
The typical concertgoer will pay an extra $35 for their general admission ticket to Lollapalooza, thanks to the city’s amusment tax. A platinum pass will cost visitors more than the price of a standard ticket in taxes alone.
One way to “defund the police” is by not hiring officers – a strategy supported by many in Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s camp. The problem is, failing to hire more officers is backfiring. It leads to higher costs, some of which are very hard to count but easy to see.
Illinois added 8,400 jobs in June, but unemployment remained high compared to the rest of the nation. The state still hasn’t recovered the jobs it had before the pandemic.
The Illinois Supreme Court ruled ending cash bail is constitutional. What does that mean for Illinois? It means ready or not, the system changes Sept. 18.
This edition of The Policy Shop comes to you from Paul Vallas, policy adviser for the Illinois Policy Institute. Chicago can’t afford to wait before working to reduce crime – the city needs a plan. Unfortunately, no concrete details have emerged on how the new administration plans to address public safety, the No. 1 issue...