A package of anti-corruption bills were introduced in the Illinois Senate: one prohibits lawmakers from using campaign money to pay for legal defense, another fines felonious politicians $100,000 and one takes away their specialty license plates.
The Chicago Teachers Union’s funding of the Brandon Johnson campaign for Chicago mayor has fueled backlash from members. As one of its own employees, Johnson has banked more than $390,000 as CTU’s “legislative coordinator” in the past 5 years.
This edition of The Policy Shop is by Amy Korte, executive vice president of the Illinois Policy Institute. Happy Election Day, Chicagoans. (And happy Tuesday to everyone else.) We’re bumping up our send date by a day because by tomorrow we’ll likely know who made the Chicago mayoral runoff, and we want to give you...
It’s time for Chicagoans to vote in the race between incumbent Mayor Lori Lightfoot and eight challengers. Here’s what you need to know about voting today.
December 2022 broke the record for monthly cannabis sales in Illinois, but January 2023 couldn’t keep up.
The Chicago Teachers Union has drawn criticism from members for its handling of member money and use of dues for political purposes. Teachers who don’t like the way CTU uses their money can opt out and join alternative organizations.
A Chicago civic group suggests either increasing the state’s personal and corporate income taxes for 10 years or implementing a retirement tax to help pay for the state’s worst-in-the-nation pension debt. Here are the problems with that plan.
Sixty-five percent of Chicagoans support Illinois’ Invest in Kids school choice program. Despite the city’s problems, a majority of residents want to stay and a majority want the city to freeze property taxes to make living in the city more affordable.
In an Illinois Policy Institute poll, 69% of surveyed Chicago voters supported freezing property taxes.
A new survey shows most Chicago voters polled were not satisfied with Chicago Public Schools. A majority supported school choice.
This week’s The Policy Shop is by Mailee Smith, staff attorney and senior director of labor policy at the Illinois Policy Institute How to build a political machine: If our students can learn anything from the Chicago Teachers Union, it is how to use money and influence over time to amass power. The upcoming Chicago mayoral...