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Why you should miss Squeezy the Pension Python
Illinois recently released its biggest, regular report on government pensions. Before getting to that, however, it’s fascinating to look back on what was widely agreed about pensions not long ago, and how all that was said is now forgotten.
Their View
Universities better get ahead of surging anti-woke backlash. The University of Illinois should go first.
Most Americans of every political stripe gagged last week seeing three leading university presidents’ Congressional testimony on anti-semitism. After years of punishment and censorship of centrist and conservative viewpoints at their schools and others across America, none of the three could say that calls for genocide against Jews violated their schools’ codes of conduct.
Their View
New 2023 data: Inflation can’t save Illinois from its worst-in-nation pension crisis
COGFA, Illinois’ official number-crunching group, is out with its state pension reports for both FY 2022 and 2023 and its analysis shows that while record-high inflation has reduced the stress of pension costs on the budget in the short-term, those retirement debts continue to be a major threat to the state’s fiscal and economic stability.
Their View
Gov. Pritzker’s dishonest spin on Chicago crime, Illinois jobs
There’s no denying Gov. J.B. Pritzker should be one of the state’s biggest cheerleaders, consistently accentuating Illinois’ positives. It’s what any good governor should do.
Their View
Illinois mandated annual reports on Invest in Kids: 4 years, no reports
The Illinois State Board of Education failed to publish diagnostic reports required by the Invest in Kids Act to track scholarship recipients’ progress starting in 2019. State lawmakers are letting the program expire without seeing a single report.
Their View
Illinois licensing makes escaping poverty harder than in other Midwestern states
Illinois could make it easier to escape poverty by letting more people work without first getting a license. Six neighboring states do a better job of easing occupational licensing on low-income professions.
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Illinois’ 2nd-highest gas taxes drive up Thanksgiving travel costs
More than 55 million people are traveling for Thanksgiving this year, according to AAA. Illinois motorists can avoid the nation’s second-highest gas taxes by filling up in other states.
Their View
Illinoisans burdened with $207 billion in official state & local pension debts, $41,000 per household
The $200 billion Illinois’ public and private sectors got in federal covid bailouts pulled Illinois back from its decades-long, self-inflicted financial decline. Unpaid bills are now mostly repaid, state revenues are up and the state has received multiple credit rating upgrades.
Their View
Illinois becomes first state in America to go backward on school choice
School choice in Illinois is dead. For now. The teachers unions were on a warpath to kill Illinois’ small tax-credit scholarship program and their Democratic allies weren’t willing to cross them. Gov. J.B. Pritzker, House Speaker Chris Welch and Senate President Don Harmon failed to call a bill to a vote this week to extend the program and with that, the Invest in Kids Act sunsets at the end of this year.
Their View
Pritzker asks Biden to help Illinois attract more migrants
Gov. JB Pritzker met with Pres. Joe Biden for 45 minutes during Biden’s Thursday Illinois visit.
Their View
Chinese state-run publication cheers Gotion’s Illinois and Michigan projects as expansion of global supremacy in E.V. supply chain
The Global Times is a Chinese government publication controlled by the Chinese Communist Party. Its October 31 column celebrates China’s expansion of its dominance over the the electric vehicle and battery supply line into the United States and the rest of the world.
Their View
1.2 million Illinois public school children can’t read at grade level, yet legislature, unions push to kill state’s only school choice program
It’s incredible that Illinois politicians and the teachers unions are focused on maiming – or even killing – the state’s tiny 9,700-student school choice program when states across the country are not only expanding school choice, but making it universally available for every single student in their state.
Their View
Gov. Pritzker shuns warnings from Biden Administration and top democrats about Chinese espionage
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said critics of his decision to provide taxpayer financing to Gotion, Inc., a Chinese electric vehicle battery maker with CCP ties, are “xenophobes” and “MAGA Republicans.” That’s ironic given that some of the most urgent warnings about China on spying, intelligence and supply chain risks come from the top of his very own Democratic party.
Their View
5 problems with report implying Illinois is growing. Problem No. 1: It's not
Authors left out key data that contradicted their findings to claim Illinois’ population is growing. Evidence Illinois is shrinking comes independently from the IRS, U.S. Census Bureau, Illinois Department of Revenue and multiple moving companies.
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NewsGuard, part of the government-media censorship complex, promoted by Chicago Tribune to combat ‘misinformation’
This was Media Literacy Week, and the Chicago Tribune’s contribution was an op-ed by the executive editor of NewsGuard, a supposed warrior against media misinformation.
Their View
Illinois city outlaws trick-or-treating beyond age 12
Some Illinois communities see regulating any mischief on Halloween as a real treat. Belleville prohibits anyone older than 12 from trick-or-treating, with fines up to $1,000.
Their View
‘Illinois is growing,’ claims yet another group of political elites; It’s not true
Wirepoints has highlighted for years how Illinois’ failed public policies are driving residents out of the state. All the evidence, from the U.S. Census Bureau to the IRS to United Van Lines to U-Haul to Allied Van Lines, shows Illinois losing far more residents to other states than it gains. We’ve also shown how Illinois births and legal international migration into Illinois have dropped steadily. Illinois consistently ranks at the bottom of most population/migration statistics.
Their View
Kit Kat, Twix cost less because Halloween treat taxes are tricky in Illinois
A spooky statute in Illinois says sweets made with flour aren’t candy. Halloween shoppers can dodge Illinois’ higher candy tax by checking ingredients.
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Former Consul General of Venezuela in Chicago says Venezuelans, now the majority of Chicago migrants, lie to get asylum
A majority of migrants bused to Chicago over the past year are Venezuelans, including at least 59% of the 8,360 people in city shelters. Nationally, they are also now the largest group of illegal border crossers.
Their View
What is the Invest in Kids scholarship program, and why it matters
Over 9,600 low-income students rely on the Invest in Kids scholarship program to attend schools that best fit their needs. Here’s what you need to know about the program and why it is important lawmakers extend the program this fall.