-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
The total assessed value of non-residential properties jumped 60 percent from the previous 2018 assessment. For comparison, the assessed value of residential properties rose just 15 percent in the same time period.
Some key student groups showed attendance lags — notably pre-kindergarten students and Black and Latino students — though the second week brought attendance rebounds, according to data presented Wednesday to the Chicago Board of Education.
Ald. Anthony Beale said he was “really disturbed” by the drop in Chicago’s African American population, and suggested that it was due in part to an undercount exacerbated by a “strategic” decision to send fewer census takers and other resources to African American neighborhoods.
Martinez, who grew up in Pilsen, was most recently the head of San Antonio Public Schools. His first official day on the job will be next Wednesday, Sept. 29.
State Rep. Tony McCombie: “Even Gov. JB Pritzker concedes more reform is needed to restore the public’s trust in government. Yet, instead of using his amendatory veto pen to add real substance to this bill, he chose to cater to his party to protect them.”
Public school districts have 60 days from when the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) sends them a notice they are not in compliance with the mask mandate to change their policy.
Springfield District 186 representatives said the district’s June 21 meeting was removed by the Google-owned video platform for violating it’s “medical misinformation policy, presumably due to the public comment portion.”
Illinois Retail Merchants’ Association President and CEO Rob Karr said there are consequences beyond increased interest costs if the debt isn’t paid off. “Certainly higher costs for employers, initially you would see some sort of benefit cuts for employees as well. And under federal rules, the longer that debt is in place, the higher the employer taxes will go.”
State Rep. Mike Murphy, who was part of the commission previously and is now against extending it, said his main issue with the commission was the lack of cooperation from the governor. “I joined the commission because I wanted to make sure the General Assembly was engaged. We were AWOL for 224 days in 2020 until lame duck 2021.”
More than 18 months after Illinois Department of Employment Security offices closed their doors to Illinoisans, all state job centers have reopened for in-person assistance.
In the coming school year, 39% of the money the state allocates to education will be diverted away from teachers and students to meet required pension payments. This represents a 458% increase in spending on teacher and administrator pensions since 2000, compared with a mere 17% increase in general education spending during that period, adjusted for inflation.
Rev. Donovan Price, known in the neighborhood for his street ministry, said what youth face in neighborhoods plagued by violence “is deeper than people know.”
The disclosure shows how Emanuel, anticipating a return to government after leaving City Hall, structured his various corporate deals with favorable financial provisions if he exited to return to public service.
The bill introduced by Rep. David Welter would apply to colleges and universities as well as elementary and secondary schools, and would prohibit all vaccine requirements in addition to COVID-related rules.
“Last winter, we put together an agreement that had people in this school community getting tested every single week. This year they haven’t been tested,” CTU Vice President Stacy Davis Gates said.
A development project has been on the drawing board in Cairo for at least a decade, but it’s now getting a big boost from the state with $40 million from the Rebuild Illinois capital improvements program to develop an enormous river port along the Mississippi River at Cairo. The hope is that the project will spur hundreds of construction jobs, and then hundreds more permanent jobs for workers at the port – workers who, it is hoped, would buy homes in the area and provide an economic base for the redevelopment of grocery stores, drug stores, gas stations and other
“We’re just trying to keep our heads above water,” Rock Island City Manager Randall Tweet said. “I imagine it’s the same story in every town across Illinois.”
Lightfoot falls in line with Pritzker and other top Democrats in opposing the most important action needed to solve the pension crisis. She refuses to endorse an amendment to the Illinois Constitution that would allow state and local governments to curb rising pension obligations.
The Cook County assessor’s office released its figures for a large swath of downtown Chicago. Homeowners should be happy, but landlords? Not so much.
Just two weeks ago we warned East Moline residents of the dangers of letting their city officials borrow tens of millions of dollars to supposedly “fix” the city’s struggling public safety pensions. Now East Moline has gotten a double-notch credit downgrade from Moody’s, leaving the city’s credit rating just two notches away from a junk rating.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joins Tom Miller’s Morning Show on WJPF in Carbondale. They discussed pensions, COVID and a ballot initiative by the Illinois Opportunity Project to allow voters to recall elected officials.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joins Dan Proft and Amy Jacobson on Chicago’s Morning Answer. They discussed Lightfoot’s budget speech, pensions and the state of young people in the economy.
State Reps. Brad Halbrook, Dan Caulkins and Chris Miller:
“How bad is it? Remember the 1995 “pension ramp” that ended up accelerating the state’s fiscal crisis and running up the highest pension liability in the nation? Well, the new energy bill is “1995 Pension Ramp” on steroids.
Over the next nine years, the energy bill will dismantle nearly 35% of our electrical generation capacity and at the same time force ratepayers to spend over $5 billion on wind and solar projects that currently make up 10% of our electrical power
The district’s K-8 schools spent between $15,177 and $20,092, with special programs like the district’s Early Childhood Center spending more on specific students. The Rice Education Center, which serves students with severe behavioral or mental health issues, spent more than any other program at $88,674 per student, but only serves 24 students.
Illinois added 2,500 jobs in August, as unemployment in the state fell from 7.1% in July to 7% last month, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. With 435,900 Illinoisans still out of work, the state’s August unemployment rate remains higher than the 5.2% national average.
SIGN UP HERE FOR OUR FREE WIREPOINTS DAILY NEWSLETTER