A pro-labor think tank claims that mandating more nurses will somehow relieve the nursing shortage and largely pay for itself. But the the Illinois Health and Hospital Association says the state’s proposed nurse staffing legislation would require about 20,000 more nurses in the state at a cost of nearly $2 billion.

The top three accounted for 23 percent: CNN, The New York Times, and The Washington Post.

The bill would mandate female, African-American and Latino representation on the board of directors of any public company headquartered in Illinois.

A bill sponsored by State Senator Omar Aquino (D-Chicago) that would allow undocumented and transgender students to receive state financial aid for college passed the Senate today.

A proposed hike in Illinois’ annual registration fee for electric vehicles, from $17.50 to $1,000, is being called unfair by current EV owners, and a sales disincentive by manufacturers — just as the new technology is beginning to gain broader traction.

The Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, or CTBA, is one advocacy group backing Pritzker’s progressive tax push. Their most recent research strengthens the case against the governor’s proposal.

The pension spiking law was not going to turn Illinois around financially, but it was a reform and it was something we needed to do. As importantly, it was also a reform that had bipartisan support.

But now less than a year later, special interests are calling for the 6% spike to be restored and the tax and spenders in Springfield are all too happy to comply.

An actuary’s perspective.

“…because we are done with the empty promises.”

Under the long-awaited legalization bill unveiled May 7, just 35 percent of cannabis taxes will go to the state’s general fund, and 10 percent will go to a separate budget stabilization fund. Another 25 percent will go to a grant program that aims to help communities hit hard by poverty, violence and the war on drugs; and 20 percent will go to mental health and substance-abuse treatment. The other 10 percent goes to law enforcement and drug-treatment education. Roughly $500M in revenue is projected.