Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed into law Thursday a measure that borrows $1 billion to extend the existing pension buyout program for Illinois state employees for two more years.
The owners of some gas stations in Chicago say they are paying the price for crime that happens at or near their businesses. They said they have been left with notices on their doors after Chicago police shut them down for days after a crime happens on or near the property.
“Boeing’s decision to leave Illinois is incredibly disappointing—every level of government in our state has worked to make Chicago and Illinois the perfect home for Boeing’s headquarters for the past 20 years,” Illinois Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth said in a joint statement.
According to a review of pension audit reports for nine of the major public pension funds — including five in the City of Chicago and three state pension funds — a combined total of nearly $112 million was invested in Russian equities, bonds and other assets at the start of the invasion. Compared to the roughly $155 billion in total investments those funds comprise, the Russian slice is only a fraction of 1%.
“There are major plants in central and southern Illinois that right now are trying to figure out how they’re going to run their operation in eight years because wind and solar don’t generate steam,” Illinois Manufacturers’ Association President and CEO Mark Denzler explained. “There are major facilities that employ thousands of people and jobs that average $100,000 a year. They’re calling me and telling me we don’t know how we’re going to operate in eight years.”
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul this week urged President Biden to fully cancel federal student loan debt owed by every federal student loan borrower in the country. All $1.7 trillion of it. For everybody, rich or poor. No questions asked. And who created the student loan mess? Both parties bear blame, but a central villain was none other than the guy Raoul wants to forgive the debt – Joe Biden.