Gov. J.B. Pritzker told Crain’s Chicago Business, “Illinois is back.” But with a long list of state and local fiscal and economic problems, that is more spin than reality.
Unfunded liabilities for Illinois’ five statewide pension systems grew by $2.5 billion in a year, hitting its second-highest level since 2009. Researchers attributed most of the growth to “larger than expected salary increases.”
Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates has let $5,579 in Chicago water, sewer and trash bills pile up. She makes over $289,000 and demands the “wealthy” pay a greater share. So why doesn’t she pay her fair share to a city in financial turmoil?
"“With all the student-athletes I work with, my goal is to get them to understand the importance of using that work ethic in everything; not just basketball."
Poverty rates in Chicago drop with each level of educational attainment. Chicagoans without a high school diploma face poverty rates more than four times higher than those with bachelor’s degrees.
This edition of The Policy Shop is by writer Patrick Andriesen. Here’s a thought: Violent crimes are surging in Chicago and sending businesses packing, so let’s cut the number of cops on the street. That’s some brilliant, progressive thinking, right? Two Illinois Policy Institute reports this week highlighted Chicago’s crime problems, problems 66% of voters...
Chicago set an 11-year record for car thefts with months still to go in 2023. Nearly 25,000 drivers through October failed to find their vehicles where they’d left them.
Employment is the clearest path out of poverty, but these five low-income professions face more occupational licensing burdens than others in Illinois.
In a single year, one Chicago neighborhood saw about 1 of every 250 residents carjacked. Carjackings citywide more than doubled in five years.
The Johnson administration is playing a shell game on public safety. They’re likely hiring civilians for administrative positions to free up officers at local police districts, yet they’re eliminating more than double the amount of police positions currently vacant.
Occupational licensing is more burdensome in Illinois than in neighboring states for many professions. Those barriers are unreasonably keeping poor Illinoisans and Chicagoans from finding work.