Students are required to take a teacher performance assessment test to get their license, including video clips of them teaching and lesson plans that they have created. “What we started to find is that people said, ‘I’m not putting myself through that. It’s too much work, it’s too much too many hoops to jump through,’” said Mark Klaisner, president of The Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of School.

Democrats who supported the legislation said it was necessary to prevent people with a grievance against the state from selecting the county in which to file a lawsuit based on where they think they can get a favorable ruling. Supporters also said the measure will conserve resources for the attorney general’s office, which represents the state in court.

“First We Get the Money” proposes adding a new citywide income tax on household income above $100,000. That would bring in an estimated $2.1 billion a year in new revenue, of which they claim “$1.6 billion would be from high-earning Chicagoans and $490 million from high-earning commuters.” The report cites city income taxes above 3.7% in New York and Philadelphia as justification for implementing a similar tax in Chicago.

While passage of a fiscal 2024 budget took center stage during Illinois’ spring legislative session, lawmakers also advanced potential public-private partnerships, extended transit’s break from farebox funding rules, aided hospitals, and cemented a pension overhaul for Cook County.

Among the programs discussed was the Smart Start Illinois program, which supporters say will eliminate early childhood deserts for 3-and-4-year olds by 2027. The program, in total, will cost the state’s taxpayers $350 million for the programs and new facilities.

One hotly debated bill dealt with the state providing taxpayer assistance to grocery stores. Supporters said the legislation will eliminate food deserts in Illinois, but state Rep. Brad Halbrook said on the floor of the House what is really going on is a “logic” desert. “All this leads to really bad policy and we have the situation that the government is picking winners and losers once again.”

The briefs for the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in the expedited appeal from Cook County, the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois argue the banned weapons pose “extraordinary risks to law enforcement,” are “not commonly used for self-defense,” and that “weapons in common use for criminal purposes may be regulated.”

Illinois will again become an outlier by taxing food at the supermarket: 37 states don’t tax groceries at all. Among the 10 most populous states, Illinois is the only one with a grocery tax.

In the past week alone, gas prices have dropped by seven cents, resulting in an average price per gallon of $3.88. This marks a significant difference from a year ago when the state average was as high as $5.39 per gallon.

Jim Dey: “Although the report (from the Illinois Commission on Government Forecasting & Accountability) was positive, there was one issue of possible concern. The state’s largest source of revenue comes from its 4.95 percent income tax. While corporate and tax tax revenues have grown nicely over the current fiscal year, the report indicated that income-tax revenues ‘remain $1.065 billion behind last year’s pace.'”

State regulators are charging Coinbase for violating securities laws in connection with the company’s staking offerings. Other states on this task force include California, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, Alabama, South Carolina, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.

“When the flow of federal money to state and local budgets runs out, some jurisdictions—including California, Illinois, and New York City—will face enormous budget gaps.”

You know, taxes here in Illinois are crazy,” said customer Kelly Smaltz, who is headed abroad for work. Finances played into the decision to depart for them and for friends. “Of our group, probably 10 of us are leaving or have left Illinois just because, it’s just, taxwise, a very difficult place to live.”