Voters may also want to consider whether these rights need to be part of the Illinois Constitution, even if they do seem desirable.
More than 70 cents out of every new education dollar already goes to teacher retirement costs.
Voters will weigh in on non-binding referendums including a minimum-wage increase and a millionaires tax, as well as constitutional amendments on existing crime victims’ rights and voting rights.
Illinois is last in the U.S. for putting people back to work.
Unemployment rates fell for most of Illinois’ metropolitan statistical areas in September, according to a press release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, seven out of 10 Illinois metro areas are not showing any signs of an economic recovery when it comes to putting people back to work. Champaign, Chicago and Springfield are showing...
It’s been two years since Chicago last updated its food-truck regulations to allow vendors to prepare food onboard. This was a significant improvement, but there are still some important changes the city can and should make to better respect food-truck owners’ rights and improve food options for residents across the city. Here are three modest...
In October, we found 52 different stories of potential public corruption in Illinois, including a trio of stories related to the election. An Illinois Policy investigation into emails from a group of Kankakee County superintendents revealed potentially illegal activities to pass a countywide sales-tax hike for school facilities. Documents obtained suggest illegal actions by superintendents...
Illinois’ “temporary” 2011 tax hike made the state’s slow recovery even worse. The tax hikes hit at the worst possible time – right after household incomes had collapsed during the recession. Since the tax hikes, the monthly growth in the number of people working in Illinois has slowed down by 60 percent, while the monthly...
The most recent Jacksonville District 117 teacher contract contains provisions that make the deal unaffordable for a struggling community with a poverty rate of 18 percent and incomes that are well below average for the state. The two-year agreement covered August 2012 to August 2014. Pay hikes: While the district managed to coax the Jacksonville...
Illinoisans don’t need bureaucrats playing venture capitalist with their hard-earned money.
It’s perfectly legal for people working for local government to engage in politics on their own free time, but if they are using taxpayer resources or facilities for political campaigns it can be a criminal act. A Freedom of Information Act investigation conducted by the Illinois Policy Institute has revealed potentially illegal activities being conducted...