IFT spent a total of $49,719,191 in 2022, according to the document the union filed with the U.S. Department of Labor. Yet just $12,972,199 was on “representational activities,” which the Department explains are activities “associated with preparation for, and participation in, the negotiation of collective bargaining agreements and the administration and enforcement of the agreements.” The rest was spent on politics, administration and other union leadership priorities.

“But the release of the Supreme Court’s Commission on Pretrial Practices report in April of 2020 that recommended abolishing cash bail; the massive George Floyd protests in the summer of that year, along with insistence from activists that the Legislature needed to take action; then-House Speaker Michael Madigan’s desperation to remain in power by locking in support from a long-frustrated Black Caucus; a billionaire governor sympathetic to their cause during what was essentially a closed-off, round-the-clock winter session held in the midst of a deadly worldwide pandemic; and a dysfunctional and unfeared minority party, all combined to pass this highly

Officials from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services said they continue to work on the issue with stakeholders. State Rep. Steve Reick said they’ve heard that before. “I don’t think you folks belong in this business,” Reick said. “This is not part of your portfolio. Your portfolio is to protect the safety of children. Not to license day care centers.”

Getting paid not to work also seems to be a popular policy in blue states this year. For example, Illinois joined two other blue states — Nevada, whose legislature is controlled by Democrats, and Maine — in passing a law earlier this year that requires employers to provide paid time off to their employees, regardless of the reason. As if high crime and taxes aren’t enough, employers in Chicago and the rest of Illinois now have lots of new regulations to deal with. In addition to the mandated time off they have to provide (mentioned above), they now face new

“Those are staggering numbers and the very reason why we need the openness and transparency in an effort to clean up these voter rolls, again, just another step to try and restore faith in the system, in the election system, for the voters of Illinois,” state Rep. Brad Halbrook said.

Gov. JB Pritzker said the state’s clean energy initiatives, and CEJA in particular, have become big selling points when marketing Illinois to an international audience. “(I)n the U.K. and across Europe, the idea that we are focused on (being) fossil fuel-free by 2050 … is quite important to them,” he said. “When they think about states – Mississippi or, you know, I could name lots of states that don’t have climate policy – they know that their customers expect them to be producing products using clean energy, and that can’t be done, or at least not enough of it, in

Several board members said they don’t like the fact that a new state law, effective in January, made project approval all but inevitable by removing most county-level zoning authority over commercial wind and solar projects. “They’ve taken away our options,” board member Annette Fulgenzi said.

In a blow to Illinois businesses, the Court denied White Castle’s petition for rehearing and upheld the standard that BIPA claims accrue upon each scan or transmission. The Court copied its previous analysis in rejecting White Castle’s practical argument concerning the potential for massive damages awards of BIPA, again stating that “where statutory language is clear, it must be given effect, ‘even though the consequences may be harsh, unjust, absurd or unwise.’”

Illinois ranked as the worst state because its financial report received a disclaimer opinion, in essence flunking its audit. The state’s auditors found Illinois did not maintain adequate accounting records and documents for its Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund and did not provide safeguards for the fund’s assets. (Downloadable PDF)

“She brought accountability and transparency to municipal finance in a way that is so critically important in this moment,” said Jennie Huang-Bennett, Chicago’s chief financial officer under former Mayor Lori Lightfoot. “And between the passing of Laurence Msall and Yvette, it’s an enormous hole that we have to fill.”

Sheriff Jeff Bullard of Jefferson County said law enforcement and attorneys will be the ones who bear the brunt of these changes. “We did our job. We arrested them, incarcerated them,” Bullard said, “and then the state’s attorney makes the argument that they should be remanded for trial, and the judge, based on the SAFE-T Act guidelines, says, ‘Now I’m forced to let them go.’ That’s going to increase crime victim frustration … and we share that frustration with them.”

A proposal gaining bipartisan support could require the Comptroller and Treasurer to transfer $500 million from the general revenue fund to the pension unfunded liability reduction fund annually. House Bill 4098 would also make changes to the Tier 2 pension plan for people hired after 2011.

“A recent letter addressed to Fortune 100 CEOs, sent under the signature of 13 Republican state attorneys general, purported to remind corporate leaders of their obligations under federal and state law to refrain from discriminating on the basis of race….The letter’s suggestion that a private employer’s diversity and inclusion program may constitute discrimination is, in a word, ludicrous.”

Former GOP House member Mark Batnick: “Illinois’ economic racial equity ranks worst in the nation, according to a recent WalletHub study.Despite a rich history of minority representation and executive leadership at the highest levels of federal, state and local government, Illinois minority families are materially worse off here than in any other state. How could that be? Unintended consequences.