Amendment to Illinois Constitution is much more than right-to-work ban

By Joe Tabor

08/16/2021

The proposed constitutional amendment placed on the 2022 ballot by the Illinois General Assembly would put every provision in union contracts beyond the reach of state law.

TAGS: government unions, Illinois, public sector, right to work

Moody’s report: Illinois pension debt reaches record-high $317 billion

03/05/2021

Illinois worst-in-the-nation public pension debt grew 19% year over year. It will continue hurting the state economy and job growth, driving more people out of Illinois, unless there are reforms.

TAGS: debt, Moody's Investor Service, pensions, public sector

Hidden pension ‘tax’ costs each Illinoisan more than $1,400 per year

By Orphe Divounguy, Bryce Hill

03/02/2021

Illinoisans pay a hidden pension tax. Eliminating that cost would free up resources to help Illinois recover from the COVID-19 recession while also raising the state’s long-term economic potential.

TAGS: pensions, public sector, taxes

Sangamon County judge rules local governments can be open on Election Day

By Joe Tabor

10/19/2020

A section of a vote-by-mail bill passed earlier this year established Election Day 2020 as a state holiday. A judge ruled it did not apply to local governments.

TAGS: Election Day, public sector, Sangamon County

Illinois lawmakers pass Election Day holiday for government workers only

05/22/2020

Election Day 2020 would be a paid holiday for all government workers – at an unknown cost to already ailing local governments.

TAGS: AFSCME: American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, government workers, public sector, special session, vote-by-mail

Illinois bill would make Election Day a holiday, but only for government workers

05/21/2020

Tucked into sweeping vote-by-mail legislation is a holiday provision that would make Nov. 3, 2020, a holiday for all state and local government workers.

TAGS: AFSCME: American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, government unions, public sector, vote-by-mail

Illinois scheduled to give $261M in automatic pay raises to state workers

By Mailee Smith

04/13/2020

Pritzker should join other Democratic governors in postponing automatic pay raises, which would free up funds for needy Illinoisans and potentially preserve state worker jobs in the long run.

TAGS: AFSCME: American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, coronavirus, COVID-19, pensions, public sector, state worker pay

Lawmakers seek to place nation’s first job-killing amendment in Illinois Constitution

By Mailee Smith

02/05/2020

A proposal in the Illinois General Assembly would prohibit right-to-work laws in Illinois, making Illinois the only state in the nation to ban the policy in a state constitution.

TAGS: constitutional amendment, economic growth, graduated income tax, ILGA: Illinois General Assembly, Illinois, Illinois Constitution, Janus v. AFSCME, job creation, jobs, labor, lawmakers, private sector, progressive income tax, public sector, right to work, Rockford, Springfield, unions

Illinois government spending growth among nation’s highest, personal income growth among lowest

By Bryce Hill

02/04/2020

Robust growth in government spending has failed to yield similar results for Illinoisans’ incomes

TAGS: economic competitiveness, economic growth, government spending, ILGA: Illinois General Assembly, Illinois, Illinois Constitution, income growth, JB Pritzker, job creation, jobs, private sector, public sector, spending, spending cap, Springfield

Chicago teachers who don’t want to fund CTU leadership’s politics have options

By Mailee Smith, Vincent Caruso

01/30/2020

Leaders of Illinois’ largest local teachers’ union received swift blowback after their latest push into public politics. Members dissatisfied with the priorities of their union’s leadership deserve to know they have other options.

TAGS: Chicago, CPS: Chicago Public Schools, CTU: Chicago Teachers Union, government unions, Jesse Sharkey, Kim Foxx, labor, Lori Lightfoot, Nicolas Maduro, opt out, public sector, Stacy Davis Gates, strike, Venezuela

Unlocking Opportunity: How Occupational Licensing Reform Would Promote Equitable Empowerment in Illinois

Illinois finds itself at a crossroads: will it empower minorities and poor people to unleash their potential, or will it perpetuate an inequitable status quo? For far too many Illinoisans, opportunity is unfairly and unnecessarily out of reach. Illinois ranks in the bottom ten among all states in social mobility and last among Midwest states...

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Unlocking Opportunity: How Occupational Licensing Reform Would Promote Equitable Empowerment in Illinois

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Martin Sahagun

Process for unionizing non-state workers raises red flags

CBS Chicago: Illinois’ highest-paid superintendent receives $400K per year to oversee 1,200 students