-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
IRS data: Illinois lost people and income to every neighboring state on net
A group a the University of Chicago is demanding that the school pay reparations to students whose families suffered as a result of slavery, because of the school’s historical ties to politician Stephen Douglas.
What we need most in the primary between Bruce Rauner and Jeanne Ives may not be in the cards: a debate. Rauner today would not commit to one and focused his anger on Michael Madigan, avoiding specifics about Ives. Maybe that’s smart political strategy for Rauner, which would be a shame, because just getting people up to speed on the scope of Illinois’ financial challenges remains a priority. A debate can get attention, especially if it includes a firebrand like Ives who doesn’t worry about scaring the children. More importantly, a debate would indicate whether Rauner has lost a few
The state is obligated not stick up for bondholders over other city stakeholders, and it’s not just Chicago.
Demand for apartments soared after the recession, as fewer people bought homes in the aftermath of the financial crisis. Demand has remained strong amid an expanding economy and job market, the primary driver of apartment demand. In the suburbs, the median net rent has risen nearly 23 percent over the past five years.
Six months after lawmakers hastily passed their first state budget in two years, transportation advocates are sounding the alarm on a little-noticed item that will take $300 million from road repairs to pay other expenses each year.
The result, transportation advocates say, is a fatal blow to the Illinois Department of Transportation’s construction schedule that was already struggling to keep up with deteriorating roads and bridges.
Comment: We wrote frequently here, warning about the dangers, as authorization for this moved through the legislature. The press ignored it.
‘Don’t look now, but perhaps the soda tax controversy stirred more than consumer rebellion. Maybe it finally will bring about meaningful, structural, necessary downsizing of a government designed for the 19th century. Taxpayers can hope.”
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