Chicago takes pole position in race for Obama library, no tax dollars required
Chicago takes pole position in race for Obama library, no tax dollars required
On Sept. 15, the Barack Obama Foundation announced four semifinalists in the battle to build Barack Obama’s presidential library and museum. The four potential host sites include the University of Chicago, the University of Illinois at Chicago, Columbia University in New York City and the University of Hawaii. Holding two of the four slots, the...
By Jane McEnaney
Opposition to Affordable Care Act remains strong, even among uninsured
Opposition to Affordable Care Act remains strong, even among uninsured
According to a new poll released by Independent Women’s Voice, nearly 6 in 10 likely voters were directly impacted, knew someone directly impacted or had a family member directly impacted by the Affordable Care Act, or ACA. Of those reporting an impact, 60 percent reported a negative impact of the law and 38 percent reported...
By Naomi Lopez Bauman
Food-stamp enrollment in Illinois outpaces job creation by nearly 2-to-1
Food-stamp enrollment in Illinois outpaces job creation by nearly 2-to-1
Illinois’ sluggish jobs recovery is coming at a tremendous cost. For every post-recession job created in Illinois, nearly two people have enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps. In the recession era, the number of Illinoisans dependent on food stamps has risen by 745,000. Without adequate job creation in the...
By Michael Lucci
Bold school: Northeastern Illinois University moves to seize private property in North Park
Bold school: Northeastern Illinois University moves to seize private property in North Park
Northeastern Illinois University, or NEIU, has moved to seize land from businesses and families in the Chicago neighborhood of North Park as part of its bid to construct new student dormitories – even though the university already owns plenty of land it could use without seizing anything. NEIU has filed a lawsuit to forcibly acquire...
By Bryant Jackson-Green
The disappearance of Illinois’ manufacturing jobs
The disappearance of Illinois’ manufacturing jobs
Illinois’ manufacturing sector has been hemorrhaging jobs for decades, and policy has a lot to do with it. Since 2004, Illinois has lost 125,000 manufacturing jobs. Most of these losses resulted from the Great Recession – a colossal 117,000 manufacturing jobs were shed from January 2008-January 2010 – but precious few have returned. In the...
By Michael Lucci
Illinois school districts seeking 14 countywide sales tax hikes in November
Illinois school districts seeking 14 countywide sales tax hikes in November
School districts in 14 Illinois counties are pushing for countywide increases in sales tax rates. These counties are utilizing the 2007 Illinois County School Facility Tax Act, or ICSFTA, which allows school boards representing 51 percent of a county’s population to put a referendum on the ballot for a countywide sales tax increase to fund...
By Brian Costin
Everything you need to know about North Riverside’s budget battle
Everything you need to know about North Riverside’s budget battle
On Sept. 12, the village of North Riverside took a big step forward in addressing its budget crisis. The village filed a suit with the Cook County Circuit Court asking for the right to terminate its currently expired firefighters contract. This effort is part of the village’s larger plan to deal with its budget crisis...
By Benjamin VanMetre
Good politics makes bad policy on Emanuel minimum-wage hike
Good politics makes bad policy on Emanuel minimum-wage hike
On Sept. 3, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel signed an executive order requiring city contractors to immediately hike wages for the city workers they employ to $13 per hour from the current rate of $11.93 per hour. The current rate is already nearly 45 percent higher than the statewide minimum wage of $8.25 per hour. Illinoisans...
By Jane McEnaney
Teachers begin exodus from unions in Michigan
Teachers begin exodus from unions in Michigan
After a year-long campaign by the nonpartisan Mackinac Center and other groups to inform Michigan’s teachers of their right to leave their union, around 5,000 teachers have decided to do so. But more than 100,000 teachers in the state remain under union control. And the Michigan Education Association, or MEA, is claiming victory for managing...
By Paul Kersey
Government workers watch stock market boom as their retirement security collapses
Government workers watch stock market boom as their retirement security collapses
Stock markets have reached all-time highs just a few years after the market meltdown of the Great Recession. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index has more than doubled since the end of 2008 and many individuals have replenished their retirement accounts, and then some. But if you’re an Illinois government worker stuck in a state-run...
Illinois Medicaid redetermination increasingly important to control costs
Illinois Medicaid redetermination increasingly important to control costs
The proportion of Illinois Medicaid enrollees found to be ineligible remains high, according to the state’s Medicaid Redetermination Project Quarterly Report for the second quarter of 2014. But here’s the kicker: The state will end up paying for more and more of them, regardless of eligibility. According to the report, 55 percent of the reviewed...
By Naomi Lopez Bauman
Illinois employers forecast 1,300 layoffs
Illinois employers forecast 1,300 layoffs
More than 1,300 Illinoisans will be laid off in coming months, according to notices filed in accordance with the Workers Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, or WARN. Among the cuts listed in the August WARN report are 418 jobs lost in conjunction with Hostess Brands’ shuttering of its Twinkie factory in Schiller Park – the...
By Austin Berg
Minority employment tanks under Quinn
Minority employment tanks under Quinn
Minorities have suffered disproportionately under the failed economic policies of Gov. Pat Quinn. From its pre-recession peak through 2013, the black employment rate has plummeted by 7.1 percentage points, more than any other racial group in Illinois. Fewer than half of black adults are employed in Illinois. And the black male employment rate has been...
By Michael Lucci
Can Illinois’ dead-last credit rating get any worse?
Can Illinois’ dead-last credit rating get any worse?
According to ratings agency Standard & Poor’s 500 Illinois’ credit rating is the worst among the 50 states. We are the only state in the country with an A- credit rating – on par with nations such as Botswana, Latvia and Slovenia And Illinoisans should be aware of the possibility that we could be headed...
By Naomi Lopez Bauman