This edition of The Policy Shop is by policy analyst Hannah Schmid. On Tuesday the Illinois General Assembly will begin the fall veto session, when they have a chance to override the vetoes issued by Gov. J.B. Pritzker plus put other bills in motion. The best use of their time this fall is to save...
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said he would oppose a financial transaction tax that Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson wants as part of his plan for $800 million in new taxes.
Most Illinoisans don’t want to see Gov. J.B. Pritzker seek the Oval Office. Just less than a majority of voters support the job Pritzker is doing in Illinois.
A spooky statute in Illinois says sweets made with flour aren’t candy. Halloween shoppers can dodge Illinois’ higher candy tax by checking ingredients.
Hear from those involved in Illinois' only school choice program about why Invest in Kids matters and should be saved.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson presented his first budget to other city leaders on Oct. 11. While he kept his promise not to raise property taxes, there are other fiscal challenges that will hit taxpayers hard in the future and need to be addressed now.
Thousands of Chicagoans will soon have their scholarships cut off thanks to political pressure from the Chicago Teachers Union.
Over 9,600 low-income students rely on the Invest in Kids scholarship program to attend schools that best fit their needs. Here’s what you need to know about the program and why it is important lawmakers extend the program this fall.
Pension contributions and debt service now take up 40% of Chicago’s city’s budget.
Chicagoans reported 43% more homicides in 2022 than in 2019, the last baseline year before COVID-19 pandemic tensions ushered in two of the city’s deadliest years in a quarter century. Few communities were exempt from the rise in violent crime.
"I pulled her and her twin sister from public school because of severe bullying. There was an incident where I could not send them back.”
2022 marked a decade-high number of assaults and motor vehicle thefts in Chicago while arrest rates plummeted to their lowest level in 10 years. The first eight months of 2023 has not been much better, with a 13% increase in overall crime.