-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
“Of course while waiting to regain power, the most effective thing congressional Democrats can do for the country is stop infighting – and then divide, divide, divide!”
Even if latest plan passes, S&P sees no upgrade for two years. Locked in gridlock, Illinois is the lowest rated U.S. state.
Politicians’ refusal to make serious spending reforms is pushing more taxpayers out of Illinois, with Missouri being an attractive landing spot.
Chicago Bears legend Brian Urlacher – a player whose exceptional, bruising play on the field was accentuated by his clean shaven head – has rushed to sack a Florida medical practice the middle linebacker said has wrongly profited from baldly using Urlacher’s name and hair regrowth success to market his services.
Illinois continues to have the worst jobs growth in the region, and tax hikes will only make matters worse.
Painting Rauner as the villain who forced CPS cuts ignores reality on a Trumpian scale. When you build a budget on illusions, your daydreams die.
By: Mark Glennon* Most readers’ eyes surely glazed over when they read last week about the cat fight between two of the agencies that rate credit for Chicago Public Schools. What’s far more important than that dispute is what it illustrated: The municipal bond community is way ahead in putting itself before everybody else with a stake in the financial crises gripping CPS, Chicago, other muncipalities and the State of Illinois. They’ve been hard at work securing positions to ensure they’ll get paid first, ahead of other creditors and ahead of taxpayers hoping to see government cash used for
Comment: Do these clowns know that using public school resources for politicking is illegal?
The movement is called Indivisible. The Chicago chapter is, according to organizers, one of 5,000 that have sprung up around the country since the election of Trump.
Cullerton’s warning came in a speech to the Chicago City Club Monday during which the Chicago Democrat laid out the case for the 13-bill legislative package known as the “Grand Bargain.” Comment: Cullerton, of course, has been assuring us for years that everything is fine in Illinois. That’s been a standard talking point for him, and he’s the one who made national headlines for saying there’s “no crisis” with Illinois pensions.
A school-by-school breakdown of the $46 million in mid-year cuts announced by Chicago Public Schools Monday.
Senate President John Cullerton said Monday that his Democratic lawmakers would be briefed Tuesday on the schools plan as part of the broader, 12-bill package that Cullerton and Senate Republican leader Christine Radogno have been pushing as a way out of the state’s 19-month budget impasse.
As the Illinois Senate prepares to possibly vote on parts of its “grand bargain” this week, Gov. Bruce Rauner Monday again insisted he is staying out of the debate on the bills aimed at ending the state’s budget stalemate.
Challenging his foes to devise something better, Illinois Senate President John Cullerton today strongly defended the huge “grand budget deal” he and Senate GOP Leader Christine Radogno have put together in a bid to finally end two years of deepening Springfield budget warfare.
The project — a joint initiative between the state and City Colleges of Chicago — repeatedly has stalled amid the state’s budget crisis and disputes between the city and Springfield. Instead of being filled with students taking classes, the facility sits idle and empty, its future uncertain after years of delays that could cost taxpayers millions beyond the initial $45 million price tag.
“Lawmakers should address wasteful spending in higher education, which is hurting students, their families, instructors and taxpayers.”
Comment: If you were hoping this was something about Feds coming after aldermen, no such luck.
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