Ted Dabrowski, Illinois Policy Institute News
Beiser's choice: $4.1 million for local schools or bailout for Chicago?
Defenders of Senate Bill 1 are putting a bailout of Chicago Public Schools ahead of their own local school districts.
Stuart's choice: $4.5 million more for local schools or a Chicago bailout?
Defenders of Senate Bill 1 are putting a bailout of Chicago Public Schools ahead of their own local school districts.
44-0
Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner won the 2014 gubernatorial election on a 44-point Turnaround Agenda meant to “shake up Springfield.”
Brady 'bargain' is just another unbalanced budget
The Illinois General Assembly is scheduled to adjourn for the summer on May 31 – which means lawmakers have less than three weeks to pass a state budget. State Sen. Bill Brady, R-Bloomington, has proposed what he hopes may be the big “compromise” to end the impasse.
Years of deadbeat Illinois: State has history of shortchanging social service providers
For years, Illinois lawmakers have prioritized government-worker pay and benefits over social services. Between 2000 and 2015, contributions to Illinois state-worker pension funds shot up 586 percent, while state payments for human services increased by only 10 percent.
Government-worker pensions take away funding meant for students
Illinois’ growing pension costs – not the state budget gridlock – are taking away funding for essential government services, such as education.
Chicago Public Schools pull bond sale
Chicago Public Schools, or CPS, needs to issue $875 million in long-term bonds to help the district avoid bankruptcy – but on Jan. 27, the school district backed out of the planned sale.
Illinois is not prepared for the next recession
Sky-high debt and a meager rainy day fund make Illinois the second-least prepared state in the U.S. for its capacity to weather a recession.
Illinois to issue $500M in bonds, continues to pay highest borrowing rate of all 50 states
Illinois’ monthslong budget gridlock, $111 billion in government-worker pension debt, and more than a decade of unbalanced budgets have resulted in credit downgrades for Illinois and the highest borrowing costs of any state in the nation.