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 …
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Indications are growing stronger that the General Assembly may take on the issue of same-sex unions in the "lame duck" veto session. Tell us what you think.
Crain's Chicago Business reported last week that the Illinois General Assembly may be ready to approve gay marriage in January as part of the "lame duck" veto session. Crain's Greg Hinz wrote: "Legal gay marriage may be coming to Illinois as soon as next month. "After counting heads and consulting with legislative leaders, the chief sponsors of a bill to permit same-sex couples to get married in the state disclosed this morning that they intend to push for a vote in the General Assembly's lame-duck session, which will occur over two weeks just after New Year's. "And, in an indication of how big a campaign the pro side is launching, they've hired the firm founded by top presidential adviser David Axelrod to help them with media, …
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 …
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Proposal would phase in additional costs to local districts over a period of years, increase retirement age for younger workers.
A new pension reform plan introduced Wednesday would alleviate the state’s $95 billion liability by requiring local school districts to pay more for teachers’ retirement benefits while increasing employee contributions. Rep. Elaine Nekritz (D-Northbrook) unveiled the proposal on Wednesday, saying the plan would pay for the state’s entire unfunded liability. But in Plainfield, at least one local official doesn’t think the proposal will find enough support to become a reality. Sign up for the Plainfield Patch newsletter. “We have to have a pension that we can afford,” District 202 school board member Mike Kelly said. “Some of this has to happen.” But, he said, “This would be just another … unfunded mandate,” noting that while local school …
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Cast your vote -- do you favor legalizing pot for medical treatment or will it just open the door to misuse and further legalization?
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. So, what…
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.
- GOVERNMENT
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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 …
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.
- GOVERNMENT
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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 …
Dennis Robaugh
12:27 pm on Thursday, January 3, 2013
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