Illinois General Assembly
State Government: Elected Officials | State Legislative Bodies
Recent News About Illinois General Assembly
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Illinois Lawsuit Abuse Watch lobbies legislators for lawsuit reform
SPRINGFIELD – A group of small business owners converged at the capitol March 28 in a "Rally for Lawsuit Reform," to urge support for civil justice reforms. -
Several school districts sue Rauner, state for 'financial aid erosion;' They say they weren't provided funding to achieve more rigorous and costly learning standards
After two similar sales tax proposals benefiting schools failed in Madison and St. Clair Counties, several local school districts are suing the state for failing to provide the funding necessary to achieve the more rigorous and expensive learning standards required by in Illinois. -
Moody's warning of an 'inflection' point in Illinois signals need for reform
Illinois lawmakers should heed Moody’s Investors Service’s warnings about the state’s precarious economic health and dire fiscal situation and enact major structural spending reforms to balance the budget. -
Time to give taxpayers a victory after opening day
Cardinals Opening Day against the Chicago Cubs is on the horizon, which is something most baseball fans can all look forward to. But there is something else I look forward to happening, and that is for both Democrats and Republicans to work together and approve a balanced state budget. -
Cook County judge says Illinois politicians should not receive checks faster than state pays other debts
A Cook County Circuit Court judge ruled March 16 that Illinois can't give preferential treatment to state lawmakers' paychecks over the overdue debts that the state has. -
Illinois has hurt its economy by piling on taxes since the great recession
State and local tax hikes in Illinois have hurt economic growth, lowered the standard of living, and contributed to out-migration. -
Poll: Illinois voters want budget that reforms pensions, consolidates government and freezes property tax
Illinois voters are ready to reform the way the state does business, according to a new poll released by the Illinois Policy Institute. -
Madigan petitions Supreme Court for direct appeal of LeChien's order preserving worker pay
SPRINGFIELD – Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has asked the Supreme Court for direct appeal of a St. Clair County order preserving a normal payroll for state employees in the absence of appropriations. -
LeChien orders employee pay through revolving fund account instead of general funds
St. Clair County Circuit Judge Robert LeChien, overseeing the state’s payroll in the absence of a budget, ordered Gov. Bruce Rauner to pay 578 employees from revolving funds rather than the general fund. -
Are reporters informing the public well enough amidst state's financial crisis?
Can the average Illinoisan identify the opportunity costs when the state sends 25 percent of general revenues to its massively under-funded public pension systems? -
AFSCME pitting members against taxpayers in possible strike, think tank attorney says
CHICAGO – The largest public employee union in Illinois is exaggerating its support and pitting members against taxpayers in its announced willingness to strike, a conservative think tank attorney said during a recent interview. -
Useless committees provide political pay raises for state lawmakers
In Illinois, bloat doesn’t discriminate.It’s not just government agencies that stick taxpayers with the bill for inefficient operations. It’s state lawmakers, too. Yes, the same ones who haven’t passed a balanced budget in over a decade. -
Rauner's budget proposal needs more spending reforms
The governor should reject tax hikes and push for the structural spending reforms Illinois needs to fix its fiscal crisis and improve its economy. -
Tort reform needs to be part of 'grand bargain,' advocate says
SPRINGFIELD – As Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner urged lawmakers on Wednesday to reach a budget deal that includes cost-saving system reforms as well as new taxes, a legal reform advocate said there also needs to be tort reform. -
Madigan motion to dissolve worker pay by end of month denied by LeChien
St. Clair County Circuit Court Judge Robert LeChien has denied a motion from Attorney General Lisa Madigan to dissolve an injunction that has sustained the state payroll for 20 months. -
Chief Justice Patricia Breckenridge tells lawmakers that Missouri Supreme Court is part of good system
JEFFERSON CITY, MISSOURI – In her last big speech as chief justice of the Missouri Supreme Court, Patricia Breckenridge gave the State of the Judiciary speech on Jan. 24 to the Missouri General Assembly, discussing the progress of the court system, new appointments and future plans. -
Proposed payroll tax seen as burden on business
While it might not be such a problem for big businesses to absorb a proposed "Business Opportunity" tax - "for the privilege of doing business in the state" - small business owners could suffer the greatest. -
Illinois Policy Institute proposes property tax freeze, moving pensions to self-managed plans, no tax increase
The Illinois Policy Institute outlined a budget reform plan today that would balance the state budget and close a projected $7.1 billion budget deficit without raising taxes. -
Illinois loses 16,700 jobs in face of new tax proposals
Illinois lost 16,700 payroll jobs in December 2016, according to a Jan. 20 report from the Illinois Department of Employment Security, or IDES. -
Lisa Madigan still trying to stiff state workers
“Why has she stood silently by each year in office as [the] General Assembly passed unconstitutional budgets for 12 years?” That's the question Illinois State Representative Grant Wehrli tweeted last Saturday in response to AG Lisa Madigan's filing of a motion in St. Clair County Circuit Court two days earlier to strip state workers of their pay pending resolution of a contract dispute.