Recent News About Illinois Policy Institute
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“Stop, in the name of the Illinois General Assembly!”
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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.
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The new speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives referred to state lawmakers’ statements of economic interest forms as confusing and a ‘worthless piece of document.’ They can be fixed.
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Illinois state lawmakers recently approved a rule requiring Illinois teacher training programs to adopt ‘culturally responsive teaching and leading’ standards. Critics say a political litmus test is the wrong focus when students are underachieving on the basics.
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Illinois households earning less than $40,000 were four-times as likely to lose their jobs from February-April 2020 and nearly 11 times as likely to still be out of work compared to those earning $75,000 or more.
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Because of a pension sweetener for politicians that Madigan helped create, the former speaker’s pension will spike more than $66,000 the year after his first full year of retirement, then grow 3% each year thereafter.
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Reaction to the resignation of Mike Madigan after 50 years in the Illinois House of Representatives, and 36 years as Speaker until last month, included praise and slings.
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A Collinsville mobile home park sold for $19,000,000 as part of the Madison County real estate transactions Jan. 4-8.
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If anything good can be said about the COVID crisis, it may be that it has forced many of us to consider alternatives to the way we were living our lives, most especially with regard to how we do our jobs and how we educate our children.
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The Illinois General Assembly’s Joint Committee on Administrative Rules will vote Feb. 16 on whether to suspend a rule that would require Illinois teacher training programs to adopt ‘culturally responsive teaching and leading’ standards.
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A bill in the Illinois House would work to consolidate administration of Illinois’ schools without closing schools. The move would put more money in classrooms and take less from property taxpayers.
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Illinois’ weak economic foundations and fiscal mismanagement were preexisting conditions that caused it to suffer a deeper COVID-19 downturn. They will also hurt its recovery.
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Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she wants Gov. J.B. Pritzker to give city residents more freedom to drink and dine out. Two other Illinois regions were just granted more liberty to do so.
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Lame duck lawmakers and the outgoing Illinois House speaker are trying to hand trial lawyers some extra cash. Gov. J.B. Pritzker is being urged to veto the bill.
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Illinois’ population decline has been accelerating during the past 7 years, while neighboring states gain from that loss.
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Bans on indoor dining and bar service continue to hurt Illinois jobs numbers, placing the state low in a national recovery ranking.
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Lame duck session was busy even when House Democrats weren’t focused on replacing Mike Madigan as speaker. Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s small business tax hike died as 23 bills were passed, including one making Chicago’s pension woes worse.
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More people again in 2020 became former Illinoisans than new Illinoisans. The new General Assembly has the power to stop the moving vans.
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The most powerful speaker in American history may finally be stepping aside amid a wide-ranging federal corruption probe.
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Congress provided tax benefits for business losses in the CARES Act to help offset economic challenges during the pandemic. Gov. J.B. Pritzker wants to undo that relief to raise revenue for Illinois.