Saturday, December 22, 2012
The bad news: Job growth in Illinois is too slow, and prison inmates probably watch better TV than you. The good news: Your lawmaker is one of the highest paid in the nation.
Feeling all warm and full of good cheer? Bah! Here's a little something to satisfy the Scrooge in you before the spirit of Christmas takes hold. We Need More Jobs: At 8.7 percent, the Illinois unemployment rate is 1 percent above the national rate. And job creation is improving at a faster clip all around us, in Wisconsin, Indiana, Kentucky, Iowa and Missouri, on average, according to Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner at the Illinois Policy Institute. "The reality is Illinois’ poor policies aren't allowing the state to participate fully in the national recovery. If only Illinois’ unemployment rate were equal to the average of its neighbors, 100,000 more Illinoisans would be working. Yes, jobs are slowly returning to the state, but that’s …
Saturday, December 15, 2012
The representatives and senators leaving office in January 2013 will see millions of dollars in pension payments, figures far more sizable than they would've seen in the private sector.
Are you worried about your own retirement? With the downturn in the economy, did your 401k and savings take a big hit? If so, you're like millions of other Americans forced to confront a dramatically different outlook for their post-work years. But one group of pensioners is largely insulated from such concerns — outgoing Illinois lawmakers. The retirement benefits Illinois legislators receive are far more generous than those most of their constituents could collect working full-time jobs, reports Scott Reeder of the Reeder Report, using data from an Illinois Policy Institute analysis in a piece published on Watchdog.org. The anticipated pension benefits of the 34 lawmakers who will depart the state legislature in January show these …
Friday, November 30, 2012
Illinois Sen. Christine Radogno (R-Lemont) was chosen to continue her position Wednesday during the inauguration ceremonies for the 98th General Assembly.
Illinois Sen. Christine Radogno will once again serve as the Illinois Senate Republican Leader after being elected to her third term Wednesday during inaugural ceremonies for the 98th General Assembly. Radogno, a Lemont resident, faced a challenge from conservative Sen. Kyle McCarter of Lebanon, according to the Chicago Tribune. Senate Republicans met behind closed doors, and elected Radogno by acclamation. “It is an honor to be chosen to lead the Senate Republican Caucus,” Radogno said in a release. "I thank the constituents of the 41st District for giving me the privilege to represent them in the state capitol and the opportunity to serve as Leader. Illinois faces many challenges, but by working together our Caucus has had some success …
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Do you favor legalizing pot for medical treatment or will it just open the door to misuse and further legalization?
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Thursday, November 29, 2012
State Rep. Lou Lang's going to again try to win General Assembly approval to make marijuana for medical purposes legal -- and this time, he tells the Chicago Tribune, he has the votes to get it done. That could mean a tax windfall for Illinois: Witness places such as Colorado, which netted $5 million in new state taxes in 2011, or Oakland, Calif., which collected $1.4 million with just four dispensaries last year. But some say could also be a slippery slope, given the belief that some doctors may be too lenient when prescribing marijuana and that it will eventually lead to pot legalization. Just this month, voters in Colorado and Washington State approved such measures, although federal law still superceded state law on the issue. What do …
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
The Illinois General Assembly will meet Aug. 17 to discuss the state's massive unfunded pension liability, as well as a controversial plan to shift the cost of teacher pensions to local school districts.
Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn on Monday called for a special session of the General Assembly on Aug. 17 to tackle pension reform. The Illinois House was already scheduled to be back in Springfield to decide the fate of indicted Rep. Derrick Smith (D-Chicago), the Chicago Tribune reports. The governor's call means the Senate must also convene. Quinn made the announcement during a speech to the City Club of Chicago, calling on lawmakers to deal with "comprehensive" reforms that address the state's $83 billion unfunded pension liability. The state legislature failed to reach an agreement on pension reform during its regular spring session in May, despite last-minute efforts to strike a deal. Quinn said lawmakers "can't afford to wait another moment…
Sunday, June 10, 2012
It's always good to be caught up on state politics. Here's an easy guide to what happened this week.
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Sunday, June 10, 2012
Editor's Note: This article was created by aggregating news articles from Illinois Statehouse News that were written by various Illinois Statehouse News reporters. SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois Capitol was quiet a week after lawmakers closed out the spring legislative session, but pension reform negotiations continue behind closed doors in Chicago Legislative leaders meet with Quinn in Chicago The state’s four top legislative leaders met with Gov. Pat Quinn on Wednesday in Chicago to begin hashing out pension reform. The reform effort fell apart in the final hours of the legislative session, when lawmakers disagreed over shifting some costs to local school districts. Democrats supported the cost-shift, but Republicans said they feared it …
Monday, June 4, 2012
Superintendents from District 113A and District 210 react to lawmakers' last-minute decision to drop a controversial cost-shift plan from pension reform legislation.
Sunday, June 3, 2012
It's always good to be caught up on state politics. Here's an easy guide to what happened this week.
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Sunday, June 3, 2012
Editor's Note: This article was created by aggregating news articles from Illinois Statehouse News that were written by various Illinois Statehouse News reporters. SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois General Assembly passed a budget — almost on time — Thursday, with the Senate ending about 1:30 a.m. Friday. The budget spends $33.7 billion for the 2013 general fund — the result of months of negotiations, hearings and a dizzying array of spending and appropriations bills with last-minute amendments upon amendments. The budget, made up of several bills in the House and Senate, includes $6.5 billion for K-12 education, $1.9 billion for higher education, $5 billion for health and human services, and $1.6 billion for public safety. In a testament to how …
Thursday, December 22, 2011
From a new murderer database to stricter seat-belt enforcement, here’s a look at some of the new legislation taking effect in the new year.
As the clock strikes midnight Jan. 1, more than 200 new laws will go into effect in Illinois, including a database of first-degree murderers, stricter seat-belt enforcement and legislation that gives the public greater access to government information. “Though many Illinois residents may not realize it, every Jan. 1, hundreds of new laws take effect in Illinois," said State Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno (R-Lemont). "While some of the measures will have a greater impact than others, I always think it’s a good idea to let the public know about the new laws—some of them could have a significant influence on someone’s life or career." Here's a look at some of the new laws: Illinois residents and law enforcement agencies will be able…
Thursday, June 2, 2011
A plan to withhold $100 million in taxes from local governments was left out of the 2012 budget, which passed through the legislature Tuesday.
Local government officials across the state celebrated a major victory Tuesday as the Illinois General Assembly adjourned with a budget that leaves municipalities' income tax share intact. Gov. Pat Quinn, who has not yet signed the $33.2 billion Fiscal Year 2012 budget, had floated the idea of the state retaining $100 million in tax revenue normally distributed to municipalities through the Local Government Distributive Fund (LGDF). The plan would have been enacted to allow the state to pay back $4.5 billion in debt, he said. The proposal was met with disbelief and hostility at the local level, with organizations like the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus and the Southwest Conference of Mayors speaking out on the detrimental impact it would have …
Dennis Robaugh
12:27 pm on Thursday, January 3, 2013
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