-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
It’s hard to see thousands of people rallying to the cry, “no unsustainable pension systems,” but it might do more good than yelling about “science.”
Whoopee. It’s the end of the week and we’re short for news.
When it comes to voting on bills impacting taxpayers wallets lawmakers rarely have any idea how much the legislation will cost according to an analysis by the Illinois Policy Institute. The newly released research shows between March 2015 to January 2017 the General Assembly passed 938 bills that were ultimately signed into law. Yet only 27 of those have fiscal notes or price tags attached.
Comment: Will Rauner go with a tax increase or not? Amanda Vinicky does a good job here pressing that question, on which Rauner has been ambiguous.
Great Wolf Resorts’ CEO Rubén Rodriguez calls the office “Wolf Den Chicago.” It’s home to 45 Great Wolf Resort “pack members” and has room to grow to 100 employees to accommodate future company expansion.
Touting stock-picking expertise in the face of an industry swing toward index-investing takes a certain amount of guts. But glance at graphs charting the performance of Harris Associates funds, and you understand why they’re sticking to stock-picking.
Economic success starts with education. Yet my experience showed me that Illinois’ education system is a failure, especially for black families. I tested and taught hundreds of black students on Chicago’s south side. A normal student was in eighth grade, but his math skills were in second grade.
The only truly secure guarantee that a public employee has is a fully funded pension system. But that’s a guarantee that’s likely to become rarer as cities face mounting fiscal strains. Of the nation’s 89,000 local governments, some 11,000 have defaulted on bonds at some point in our history. As pension costs continue to escalate, it’s nearly certain that the number of defaults will rise. How lucky do you feel? Will your city run out of money?
The second one in Chicago and a growing sport.
Read it.
The administration of Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner says it wants a judge to decide whether state employees who were improperly hired under former Gov. Pat Quinn should keep union contract job protections.
But citywide, single-family homes are still 23.4 percent below their highest levels in 2007.
When complete, the train car will serve as a focal point and casual place to sit on the green rooftop for employees and others. The deck will also have raised platform with views of the Chicago skyline, a green lawn and landscaped areas.
The computer-automated dispatch that forms the guts of Chicago’s 911 emergency center will be replaced with an upgrade that allows people to text and send photos and videos from emergency scenes, improving the quality of the city’s response, a top mayoral aide said Monday.
Among the dominant trends: Chicago, Boston and Seattle had perhaps the most dedicated residents, with more than nine out of 10 local users planning to stay in the area.
Comment: Interesting data, but whether this really shows intent to stay is questionable.
Democratic Illinois Senate President John Cullerton said Tuesday that his chamber will vote this week on a proposal to send more than $815 million to universities and social service providers that have gone months without funding, despite objections from Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner.
State regulators in Illinois are staking out a unique foothold in an area of growing concern among public utilities: the security of information and digital assets in the smart-grid era.
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