A new Cook County state’s attorney inherits crime problems aggravated by her predecessor, Kim Foxx. Eileen O’Neill Burke seems ready to fight crime without abandoning efforts to be fair to minority defendants. Here’s what she should do.
The Illinois Education Association is the largest statewide teachers union in Illinois. But less than 15% of its in spending in 2024 was on representing its members – which could be why nearly 5,000 education employees have left the union.
The Chicago Teachers Union is pushing to expand the 20 “sustainable community schools” in the district. But the model doesn’t work: fewer students are proficient, absenteeism is higher.
Over 1 million Illinois families will put turkey on the table this Thanksgiving with the help of federal food assistance, including more than half of the households in Pulaski and Alexander counties.
Residents in Central Illinois are feeling sticker shock from exponential property tax growth. One woman’s $756 property tax bill is skyrocketing to $10,000 in one year.
Nearly half of the Illinois job losses in October resulted from True Value Co. declaring bankruptcy. Chicago led the state for jobs lost.
Chicago’s 2025 budget has a nearly $1 billion hole. Mayor Brandon Johnson has only proposed tax hikes. But when personnel eats over two-thirds of the budget, the city must be smart about freezes and cuts without making public safety even worse.
The Chicago Teachers Union wails about schools closing, but it is the union’s actions that have been solely responsible for past school closings and for the conditions that will lead to more closures in the future.
Florida state lawmakers began mandating science-based literacy education in the early 2000s. It improved reading proficiency among early grades and cemented Florida as a leader in early literacy education. Illinois should do the same.
Chicago’s O’Hare Airport is one of the toughest for waiting in long lines, according to a study of the nation’s biggest airports. Motorists dealing with Illinois’ second-highest gas taxes won’t fare much better hitting the road.
October job numbers for Illinois remained disappointing, with an unemployment rate that was third highest in the nation. There are 346,000 Illinoisans who need a job.
Public records show the Chicago Teachers Union and other union entities pay Stacy Davis Gates a very healthy salary. But union transparency ends there. CTU is refusing to show members how it spends their money, despite that mandate in CTU’s rules.
Chicago’s violent crime hit the second-highest level in the past five years. Aggravated assaults increased the most during the past 12 months to hit a five-year peak. Most of the victims were Black.