Illinois has 859 local school districts – the fifth-most in the nation.

One new idea that has not yet been proposed is for Congress to empower states to have the ability to reform their insolvent pension plans. Such legislation would pre-empt state laws that prohibit states from making necessary reforms. It would allow pension reform laws passed by state assemblies to take effect. Comment: This is monumentally important if true as a legal matter. If the pension crisis is important to you, read it.

Authors are Todd Maisch is president and CEO of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce. Michael Kleinik is executive director of the Chicago Laborers District Council-LMCC.

Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-IL — handpicked for the committee by House Minority Leader, Nancy Pelosi — has a long history of running interference for abortionists and their allies. A history that includes plum consulting gigs for her felon husband and more than $89,000 in contributions to her campaign coffers. And a follow-up story in Weekly Standard linked here. Comment: We don’t cover social issues here. This is about graft. Question: Is this a House ethics violation?

“There’s no room for derogatory, immoral definitions like alien for our community,” says Martin Sandoval (D-Chicago).

Author Mary Pat Campbell is an actuary who writes about pensions. Comment: She’s absolutely right that readers want facts, not opinions. We see that here. Our most viewed article in the past year, for example, was on south suburban Chicago property tax rates. Most conventional news sources would reject it as far too long and too jammed with data. Wrong.

Illinois state officials countered union claims Tuesday that a plan to cap the hours of home healthcare officials will hurt their patients.

Talks are in the works to bring shrimp farming to Whiteside County. The New Mexico Shrimp Co has started to reach out to the Northwest Illinois region, and is looking for potential partners.