From Wirepoints: Wirepoints Report: The real cost of pension and public retiree health insurance equals half of Illinois’ budget Illinois owes $73 billion in retiree health insurance benefits for state workers, yet doesn’t have any money set aside to pay for … Continue reading
The reporter in Springfield with the best handle on the state budget was Chicago Sun-Times Springfield correspondent Charles Wheeler III. He now heads the journalism school at the University of Illinois in Springfield and wrote the following for NPR Illinois: … Continue reading
The Tax Foundation produced a map of the states showing how much individual pay. We’re Number One in the Midwest, except for Minnesota. Illinois – $5,742 Iowa – $4,756 Wisconsin – $4,661 Michigan – $4,008 Indiana – $3,835 Kentucky – … Continue reading
From the Illinois News Network: Wisconsin state official highlights state economy in comparison to Illinois By Cole Lauterbach | Illinois News Network Aug 24, 2018 Wisconsin’s top economist is using Illinois as an example to highlight how well Wisconsin’s economy … Continue reading
The number of folks who left Illinois last year. WGN-TV did a story which includes interviews of those who have moved to Nashville. One of those who moved was one of my favorite authors, Brad Thor. “I was aiding and abetting … Continue reading
Unlike Illinois, Florida takes teachers who abuse their kids seriously. ‘Florida’s Troubled Teachers’ database: Easy access to educator disciplinary records The Chicago Tribune continues its series: Special report: Chicago Public Schools fails to protect students from rape and sexual abuse … Continue reading
A press release from Governor Bruce Rauner about a really important subject: Gov. Rauner and Lt. Gov. Sanguinetti unveil official Illinois Bicentennial Tequila Highlight importance of small business, Latino community CHICAGO (May 4, 2018) — Gov. Bruce Rauner and Lt. … Continue reading
The following resolution has been introduced by House Speaker Mike Madigan. If passed, it has no force of law. It’s just an expression of opinion. The top Democrat could have introduced a Constitutional Amendment and tried to get it on … Continue reading
The Illinois Policy Institute has an interesting article by Austin Berg about migration of Illinois residents to neighboring states: New data from the IRS show Illinois lost $720 million and 21,800 people on net to neighboring states from 2015-2016 Illinois … Continue reading
From a commenter named “Froggy the Taxpayer:” Drive throughout the county and it is clear 100m can be better spent elsewhere. Give the trajectory of taxes population and overall negative state of our county we can and must do better. … Continue reading
The Village of Johnsburg brings me news that Illinois is 200 years old on December 3rd a year from now. I can only wonder how the state lasted this long with Democrats doing their best to live for today, letting … Continue reading
A press release from Governor Bruce Rauner: State of Illinois prices $750 million in bonds CHICAGO (Nov. 29, 2017) — Today the State of Illinois priced $750 million in new money General Obligation bonds for 2018 capital expenditures. Bond proceeds … Continue reading
Back in the late 1970’s future Congressman and then-State Rep. John Porter conceived of a commission to consider how Illinois should approach the year 2000. Ironically, Porter was not appointed to the commission, but I was. The following press release … Continue reading
Rich Miller looked at other state capitols wrestling with sexual harassment in an article yesterday. An issue that’s exploding across the country If you enjoy watching politicians twist in the wind, you will like what he found. An article found … Continue reading
The Tax Foundation has releases its Business Climate Index and, amazingly enough, Illinois is not at the bottom end. Illinois ranks 29th. Details here. The 10 lowest ranked, or worst, states in this year’s Index are: Rhode Island Louisiana Maryland Connecticut Ohio … Continue reading
Pretty hard to separate politics in a state capitol from sex. Springfield women have come forth with some examples of what has happened to them. Let me add what happened with a lobbyist from Material Service propositioned one of my … Continue reading
It’s probably not a big surprise that most readers of newspapers–the paper ones–tend to be older than the average citizen. So, it was a surprise when the Daily Herald featured an article today about why taxing retirement income is a … Continue reading
Why does it take an elected official to make State government work the way it should? Why can’t citizens who make a reasonable request be provided the service State law says they should be able to get? My former legislative … Continue reading
From the Chicago Tribune Thursday morning summary: Emanuel administration clears bribe-paying red-light camera vendor to bid on city contracts once again. Chicago is open for business for businesses who have bribed city officials. That is so different from what Illinois … Continue reading
