The contract negotiated between the state and AFSCME Council 31 was ratified by members in July. But the final contract has yet to be released, meaning taxpayers don’t yet know how much it will cost them.
Innovation can help Chicago Public Schools improve academic proficiency, but it requires breaking up the centralized power built by the Chicago Teachers Union and Chicago Public Schools. Local control can improve student outcomes.
Rob Calvin is a real estate agent with @properties. He’s concerned about how the proposed “mansion tax” will impact Chicago’s housing market, hurting properties well below the $1 million price point Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is targeting through a ballot question. “I was watching [the city council] on Oct. 4 when they got into the...
The Chicago Teachers Union and its state and national affiliates spent nearly $6.5 million on Chicago political candidates between Feb. 28, 2022, and May 4, 2023.
Illinois politicians have worked hard to protect incumbent state lawmakers and discourage newcomers. But that is changing for the second election cycle in a row as more Illinoisans work to get into the Illinois General Assembly.
Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates missed the deadline to pay $1,533 in back taxes and penalties on her Indiana house. She was fined for taking a homeowner’s property tax break on a South Bend house she didn’t live in.
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.