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“Whether they accept it or not, teachers—and the unions that represent them—are part of that society. They’re part of the collective. They need to start acting like it.”
“This pandemic has devastated Black and Brown communities disproportionately and that’s where my expertise came into play,” said Miller. As Vice Chair of Contract Compliance, Miller has advocated for contracts for Women-owned and minority-owned businesses. She also voted with other commissioners to waive late fees for two months on both property tax installments.
Matt Paprocki, of the Illinois Policy Institute: “When businesses are deciding how to grow and expand, they don’t just look at this year. They look five to 10 years into the future. Right now, there’s a crisis of certainty. Illinois’ haywire finances and chaotic leadership have driven that…Compared to competing, neighboring states, Illinois’ high property taxes, high unemployment insurance and high corporate taxes really stand out. And the 800-pound gorilla is pension debt.”
America should not look away from these grim realities in the heartland of our nation. Chicago has historically been the grand city of middle America, but its descent into chaos must serve as a grave warning to the rest of the country. The kinds of policies pursued by Mayor Lori Lightfoot and the Chicago Democratic machine reflect the radical agenda of the Biden administration for the entire country. The United States must
State Rep. Andrew Chesney: “According to the WSJ, Illinois’ median age has increased from 36.6 to 38.8, making it one of the fastest aging states. Even states with a higher median age, like Florida, gained young people, while Illinois saw a decline in those aged 25-39. Some go to college and don’t come back — we call this ‘brain drain.’ Others left because of high taxes. According to Wirepoints, each Illinois household is on the hook for $110,000 in public employee retirement debt, up from $90,000 in 2019.”
The Madison County state’s attorney filed for a temporary restraining order in Sangamon County court late Friday seeking to pause a newly enacted law that creates judicial subcircuits in several counties, including Sangamon County. Thomas Haine made the filing because Madison County has judicial races this fall.
“There’s no reason to dispute the governor’s good intentions or dismiss the resentment the outside monitor generates. But the reason the status of the outside monitor seems “never-ending” is because the efforts by state officials to violate hiring rules by giving special treatment to friends, families or political supporters are equally never-ending.”
The CTA capital budget for FY2022 is projected to be nearly $1.1 billion. This an 8.1%, or $80.9 million, increase from the original FY2021 capital budget of $995.4 million.
When the mayor accuses teachers of holding their students “hostage” by demanding safer working conditions, and the union president calls the mayor “relentlessly stupid” — two moments that made you cringe during their latest standoff this month — it’s clear there’s little chance of reconciliation.
The change during winter break was implemented at the time the Omicron surge was taking hold, and Mayor Lori Lightfoot and the school district were trying to convince parents it was safe to send their children back to school. CPS insists the change was not meant to mislead.
At least five kids under the age of 18 have been shot and killed in Chicago so far this year.
Secretary of State Jesse White’s office said offices — including driver services facilities — that have been closed since Jan. 3 because of the surge in positive COVID-19 cases across Illinois are opening up again on Monday.
Only six states—Alaska, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania—levy top marginal corporate income tax rates of 9 percent or higher.
“So while local governments at one time received 10% of the income tax revenue in their areas, that number has been reduced to just over 6%. Now municipalities are urging state lawmakers to restore some of that revenue. The DuPage Mayors and Managers Conference, an organization representing 35 municipalities, says income taxes collected by the state and distributed back to local governments account for between 10% and 20% of a town’s operating budget.”
Gov. JB Pritzker Thursday criticized the parents’ case, saying they are fighting against “freedom from” COVID-19. “That’s what we’re looking to do, to give people their freedom from the virus,” Pritzker said. “These people are holding us back and they’re going to close schools as a result if they were to win.”
Across the three Illinois bases there are more than 2,900 guard members. Fewer than 100 hundred are requesting an exemption, and fewer than 30 are refusing.
Irvin might not be enough of a Republican for the purists. And Democrats might want to weaken Irvin in the Republican primary for governor by pointing to some of the nice things he’s said about Democrats (including the governor) over the years. But Richard Irvin is still a Republican.
Foreclosure activity has risen since the federal moratorium ended on July 31, 2021, and lenders could take back properties from homeowners who fell behind on their mortgages. The highest rates in the top 50 counties included Saint Clair County, IL (outside St. Louis, MO) (one in 121 residential properties facing possible foreclosure) and Cook County (Chicago), IL (one in 757).
Age 16 is currently the youngest age you can tie the knot in Illinois, but you have to have parental consent. Lawmakers say this is dangerous because as long as a parent signs off, the son or daughter can’t object to that union.
See the list of demands from the Black Students Association.
Ogle County is slightly higher in the ranking for first place. The study considered things like the percentage of people with small business income and how much the small business owners pay in taxes (with a link to the full map of ranked counties).
Until the beginning of this month, CPS parent and cloud engineer Jakob Ondrey said the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the district closely correlated with cases reported from individual schools. But those trends started diverging after students returned from winter break, Ondrey said. Cases reported to the district were no longer showing up on school dashboards.
The Department of Employment Security on Friday announced state unemployment claims dropped in December to 5.3%. The state also added 22,000 new jobs last month.
Of the $5.1 million collected in 2021, $3.5 million was paid to schools, parks, libraries and first responders, the assessor’s office said in a release. About $4.6 million was gathered in 2020 and $6 million the previous year. More than a thousand non-eligible people’s benefits were removed, the office added.
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