Good-faith negotiation and trust were foundational to all of the deals made, but some Statehouse Democrats pushed for extreme solutions while others were actively compromising.
Gov. Rauner and the Illinois House of Representatives support a bill to release lottery winnings, but Democratic leaders in the House and Senate are standing in the way. Now Illinois Lottery winners may not be paid until 2016.
Restoration of child-care cuts fails in Illinois House.
The Chicago Teachers Union cannot legally strike before completing several procedural steps, which would take four months following failed mediation with Chicago Public Schools; however, the union could flout the law and strike sooner in the hope of pressuring Chicago Public Schools to reach a deal quickly.
Changes to Illinois unemployment insurance law will strengthen deterrents against fraud, abuse and negligence; eliminate a $470 million tax increase and $300 million benefit reduction.
The Goodwins’ cry for help was met with overwhelming kindness.
Recent federal jobs data show that white-collar professionals are more numerous and earn more money in Illinois than in Indiana, but that Indiana, a Right-to-Work state, has more and better-paying jobs for blue-collar workers than does Illinois, which has forced unionization.
Under the union’s complicated salary formulas, yearly government-worker raises are higher than the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees would lead Illinoisans to believe.
Although the Illinois Supreme Court has ruled that altering pension benefits of current government workers violates the Illinois Constitution, there are still actions – from politicians voluntarily reforming their own pension system, to allowing municipal bankruptcy – that Illinois can take to set government-worker pensions on a more fiscally sound path.