-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
That increase reverses a long-running trend that followed deindustrialization and a loss of jobs at the region’s steel mills, said Micah Pollak, an Indiana University Northwest assistant professor of economics.
“So instead of stimulating the economy, you continue to take valuable resources and put them into this pension debt hole, you’re not going to get a recovery,” said Illinois Policy Institute Chief Economic Orphe Divounguy. “You’re gonna see continued population losses.”
“Optimism will be required for businesses to reopen. Effort will be required for them to be successful. An increase in labor costs will add to the struggle.”
“South Shore is a vibrant community, it’s in a beautiful location. But it has been a little bit neglected,” one business owner said. “The resources are starting to come in slowly, but there are still a lot of issues that need to be addressed below the surface. It’s one of those things. You try to remain optimistic, but then you have to be realistic, too.”
Trump only won 57% of downstate voters, while “no” votes on the tax amendment garnered 67% of the vote. There are fewer affluent voters downstate, which means “people that weren’t necessarily going to be affected by the graduated income tax [were] voting two to one against it,” said Scott Kennedy, data analyst at the Center for Illinois Politics.
Jim Nowlan: “In addition to beating on ourselves for so long about our negatives, a self-fulfilling prophecy, we simply have never — never-ever — thought about our future…I cannot find a single illustration of Illinois ever having done any comprehensive, long-term thinking. There is, for sure, much thinking about metropolitan Chicago, but not about the state, which has different functions from local governments.”
In recent weeks, Kinziger has become one of the most vocal Republican critics of the president as Trump has continued disputing the results of the election. After Trump put out a video statement on December 2, Kinzinger tweeted, ‘Time to delete your account.’
Goofy Ridge? It’s not Normal and hardly Standard.
Former Executive Director Ira Glasser discusses the past, present, and increasingly shaky future of free speech. “What matters is you have to stop the government from gaining the power to decide…. For people who today claim to be passionate about social justice to establish free speech as an enemy is suicidal.”
In all, 54 families in public or subsidized housing bought their own home this year through the Chicago Housing Authority’s Choose To Own program, which allows people to use a housing subsidy for the purchase, guides them through the buying process and provides them with monthly financial assistance for at least 15 years after the sale. The number of closings soared over previous years, with low interest rates during the pandemic enabling more people to make the move, according to Mary Howard, the CHA’s chief resident services officer.
Yarbrough, a 70-year-old Democrat, has been county clerk since 2018 and served as recorder from 2012 to 2018. She was also a state representative from 2001 to 2013. On Dec. 7, 2020, the recorder’s office was abolished, with its responsibilities transferred to the clerk’s office.
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