While Mayor Brandon Johnson has denied clearing Chicago’s homeless encampments had anything to do with the Democratic National Convention, his administration has said otherwise. Even his allies suspect a double standard.
Students in Illinois are steadily returning to class across Illinois’ 852 school districts, where improvement is needed on the 35% of elementary students who can read at grade level. What to know about how well the state’s public schools are preparing students for life.
New polling on Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson showed the lowest approval rating for a mayor hosting the Democratic National Convention in 40 years.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is about to host the Democratic National Convention. He’ll be a party cheerleader that nearly 2 in 3 Chicagoans would rather not follow.
July unemployment hit 5.2% in Illinois, ranking second worst in the nation. It equated to 341,630 workers looking for a job.
Education will be a major platform piece during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Too bad the party will meet near a Chicago school where spending $27K per student yields none who can read at grade level.
Only California has higher gasoline taxes than Illinois. Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s automatic gas tax boost just bumped the rate to 47 cents per gallon. It was 19 cents before Pritzker took office.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is reportedly working to get rid of Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez. Martinez has been fighting financial ploys by Johnson and the mayor’s former employer, the Chicago Teachers Union.
Chicago’s pension systems for city workers have $51 billion in debt, so much that they are in worse shape than 43 states. Fixing them requires Chicago’s mayor to push for a change in the Illinois Constitution.
Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates had words for state lawmakers, the governor, corporations and financial institutions at a public bargaining session over a new union contract. She said union demands are not a money discussion, but rather about culture.
Real-world outcomes for Illinoisans have dropped since Gov. J.B. Pritzker took office. The nation’s Democrats need to see where he’s taken Illinois before following his lead.
Nearly 100,000 Chicago-area residents are out of work, and at 6.2% the Chicago metro area has the highest unemployment rate of the nation’s 50 largest metro areas. Illinois as a whole isn’t doing much better, with a 6.1% unemployment rate.
Rent is unaffordable for half of Chicagoans, averaging $2,200 a month. The key to affordable housing is to build more housing, but that won’t happen until city government reduces its role.