Wirepoints has created a series of new fact sheets that put individual school district statistics in the spotlight. Wirepoints dug into Illinois State Board of Education and U.S. Census data to lay out the outcomes in the state’s 20 largest school districts and a select few others.
It’s a laughing matter as Attorney General Kwame Raoul and Gov. JB Pritzker see things.
The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board cited Wirepoints’ education research in its new opinion piece about the Chicago mayoral election and why the CTU will run Chicago if their chosen candidate, Brandon Johnson, wins.
A recent analysis by WBEZ’s 
As Chicagoans evaluate their two choices for mayor, Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson, it may help to look at outgoing Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s many missteps over her four years. Lightfoot left virtually everything in Chicago worse off under her watch: schools, crime, pensions, union powers, taxes, city services, and even basic political civility. Here’s a trip down memory lane.
“Sustainable” is what progressives like to call their investing. Nice word. Too bad sustainable pensions aren’t on Illinois’ agenda.
Ted joined Jeff Daly of WZUS Decatur to talk about Illinois’ high tax burden, the fact that 22 states have cut their income tax rates, the return of the progressive tax via Sen. Martwick, the need for nuclear energy to cope with Illinois’ radical green energy policies, and the fallout from Illinois’ Amendment 1.
We recently criticized HB 29, sponsored by Rep. La Shawn Ford, which would effectively criminalize much routine child discipline by parents as “parental bullying.” Give Ford credit for going straight into the lion’s den to defend it, but the bill is still no good.
Set aside for a moment whatever mistakes were made in their California home office. Its people here, past and present, deserve a salute.
Ted joined Dan and Amy this morning to talk about how crime in Chicago is getting even worse, why Chicago’s corporate elite failed to use their influence to to change the city for the better, Brandon Johnson’s past comments about “defunding the police,” Rep. La Shawn Ford’s misguided “parental bullying” bill, and more.
Brandon Johnson has taken a different tack than Vallas with a focus on social programs fueled by higher taxes to get at the “root causes” of crime. But Johnson in recent years has gone further, expressing support for the “Defund the Police” movement and sympathy for looters in Chicago.
Matt Rosenberg joined Mary Hallan Fiorito and Lauretta Froelich on WNDZ-AM 750’s “Winds of Change” to talk about why crime in Chicago is as pressing as ever, why the city’s two final mayoral candidates are taking two very different approaches to the problem and why full-on school choice is a crucial piece of real long-term violence prevention.
An obnoxious, condescending answer to a fair and obvious question.
State lawmakers across the country have given their residents permanent tax cuts over the last two years. In all, 22 states have cut individual tax rates since 2021 as a result of booming state-government revenues. But don’t expect any cuts under Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
While the bill likely will go nowhere, it’s unfathomable that it could even be proposed.
We told you in October that a new Cook County grant program was legally suspect. Sure enough, a lawsuit followed and the county has scuttled the program.
Ted was interviewed by Fox Illinois’ Mackenzie LaPorte during her TV spot about the Illinois Education Association’s fifth “State of Education” report. Ted made it clear that pouring more money into the system while lowering standards will only make the problems with Illinois education even worse.
Mark Glennon joined the Steve Cochran Show to discuss how Illinois would benefit from updated nuclear power plants, why the moratorium on building new nuclear power plants is outdated, and how long it would take to build new plants if Rep. Mark Walker’s bill passes.
The Economist cited Wirepoints’ research on empty Chicago schools in an article this week.
Illinois’ shortsightedness is exceeded by its hubris. Federal government safety standards for construction and operation of nuclear plants is extraordinarily strict. How do Illinois politicians get off thinking they know better and should override those standards with their own, total moratorium?
This is getting old. Really old.
Ted joined Dan and Amy this morning to discuss “kick back capitalism” – how government subsidies and bailouts contribute to political corruption and perpetuate inequality. They also discuss the real reason why the state is facing a teacher shortage, why businesses & families are fleeing big cities, and when we can expect a voter uprising in Chicago.
Chicago: it’s time to get back to basics. Against the city’s Wild West backdrop, there is no substitute for effective law enforcement, and no substitute for real criminal justice. Violence prevention programs are increasingly fashionable. But they aren’t proving out.
It’s hard to argue against any proposal that wants to ensure a good pipeline of teachers for Illinois schools. Gov. Pritzker wants $70 million for attracting teachers. But in Illinois nothing is that simple. The first and main reason to be skeptical of more spending is that Illinoisans already spend more on education than most of the rest of the nation. A better starting point then, is to hold Gov. Pritzker and new Supt. Sanders accountable for where we are with teachers and student outcomes right now.
You’d hope this wouldn’t be a campaign issue in a city beset by so many other problems, but it is. It was sparked by an exchange we had in a November 2021 Wirepoints podcast with Paul Vallas, now a candidate for Chicago mayor, and now it’s about alleged racism.
Here’s a good litmus test for where Chicago’s two mayoral candidates stand on K-12 education: Do they support Chicago Public Schools featuring the “How Can We Win? video on its official webpage?
Ted joined Jeff Daly of WZUS Decatur to talk about the results of the Chicago mayoral election, why the rest of Illinois needs Chicago, the fact that Illinois students can’t read in 30 Illinois schools, and the need for more parents to get involved in education statewide, and more.
Wirepoints’ research on Chicago’s ongoing crime wave was cited by Ben Shapiro as one of the reasons why Lori Lightfoot lost her job as Chicago’s mayor last night. “She happened to do nothing about the massive crime problems inside the city. In fact, according to Wirepoints.org, Chicago’s homicide rate is about 5 times higher than that of New York City and 2.5 times higher than Los Angeles’s…”
Crime, taxes, corruption, the economy? Sorry, those words don’t even appear in the article.
Ted was on Chicago’s Morning Answer with Dan and Amy to talk about the dangers of riding on the CTA, why attacking the failed policies of Kim Foxx and Tim Evans is essential for whoever becomes mayor, why pensions are the number one financial issue for the city and the state, Gov. Pritzker’s complete failure to create an Illinois EV industry despite providing millions in subsidies, and more.
Ted joined Scott Slocum of WJOL to discuss Chicago topping the list of homicide leaders among the nation’s biggest cities, that crime in the city is up 55% YTD in 2023, the city’s inability to block and tackle on crime, why that’s the case, the city’s 5 percent arrest rate, and more.
Ted joined Newsmax to discuss the state of the Chicago mayoral election. Ted said the race was almost sure to go to a runoff but that the real issue was whether Chicagoans would turn out to show their dissatisfaction over the city leaderships’ failure to control crime.
How sadly ironic that White Castle became the latest victim of the Illinois General Assembly’s malfeasance. Its stores are modeled after the Chicago Water Tower, which survived the Chicago Fire and stands as a monument to the spirit of tenacity and resilience that once prevailed to rebuild the city.
Ted joined WVON’s Matt McGill and Perri Small to talk about Gov. Pritzker’s latest dishonest budget, why the governor’s positive portrayal of Illinois ignores the real suffering of Chicagoans and minorities, the ideological fight between Gov. Pritzker and Gov. DeSantis over sex ed and trans issues, the fact that only 3 in 10 Illinois students can read at grade level, and more.
Yesterday, Chicago’s 15th Ward Alderman Ray Lopez joined Ted Dabrowski and Matt Rosenberg of Wirepoints to present key findings of a comprehensive analysis on homicides in major cities: Chicago, New Orleans were the nation’s murder capitals in 2022: A Wirepoints survey of America’s 75 largest cities.
Matt was on Chicago’s Morning Answer to talk about the fact that Chicago was the nation’s murder capital with nearly 700 dead from homicide in 2022. What’s worse, this is the 11th year in a row Chicago has suffered the most homicides in the nation.
Bring on the debate about all of this, but start by setting aside the broad, knee-jerk presumption that more funding improves outcomes.
Chicago was the nation’s extreme outlier for homicides in 2022, with 697 deaths. What’s worse, Chicago has out-paced the entire nation in murders for 11 years in a row. That’s not surprising given the failed policies of recent years, The pursuit of “social justice” instead of actual justice has only increased the protection of criminals, crushed police morale and increased the violence inflicted on ordinary Chicagoans.
Ted was on Chicago’s Morning Answer to talk about who will make it to the Chicago mayoral runoff, the growth of crime in 2023, the Chicago Teacher Union’s election financing scandal and its extreme powers, the state’s dismal education results, the DeSantis visit to Illinois and more.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s reelection campaign claimed in 
Illinois state Sen. Willie Preston, a Democrat, told Fox News: “Government isn’t the anthem for all things. I think that we have to reengage parents, have parents actively take a role inside the schools when they can be, but in addition, we need to make certain that we… spend our money in the right way as it pertains to our children’s education.”
Fox News recently featured Wirepoints’ report on the the 55 and 30 Illinois schools with no students able to do math or read at grade level. The article drew national attention to the fact that Illinois schools are failing to teach students even basic skills despite the increasing amount of cash poured into the education system.
Senior Democratic political guru James Carville told Bill Bristol what his advice to JB Pritzker would be if Pritzker paid him a million dollars.
Cancel culture is alive and well in Chicago’s mayoral race. This time, it’s Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ turn to be “de-platformed.” Mayoral challenger Jesus “Chuy” Garcia is trying to cancel a meeting Monday in Elmhurst between Chicago’s Fraternal Order of Police, which endorsed another challenger, Paul Vallas, and DeSantis.
“Organizations across Illinois are noticing concerning numbers within the classrooms.”
Ted joined the Annie Frey show to talk about the fact that there are 30 schools in Illinois where not a single student can read at grade level, the terrible act of simply pushing unprepared students up and out of the system, why education is the key to fixing wealth gaps and unemployment, and why Illinoisans have to stand up and challenge the actions of their local school districts and demand school choice.
Expect the governor to paint a rosy picture of the state and list off a long number of “accomplishments” in his budget address. But for most Illinoisans, this state is still an extreme outlier on too many issues.
Mayor Lightfoot lambasted Justice Thomas for his views on rolling back certain constitutional rights, but now it’s Lightfoot’s Chicago that is urging that broader assault on those underlying rights.
Ted was on Chicago’s Morning Answer with Dan and guest Charles Thomas to talk about why Chicago’s mayoral candidates are actively avoiding the real issues that are crippling the black community and Wirepoints’ new report that shows not a single student is able to read at grade level in 30 Illinois schools. Ted argued that the city needs leaders who will 
If you care about the plight of America’s K-12 students, especially Chicago’s, invest an hour to watch this free film.
Spry Community Links High School says its vision is to “provide a challenging and supportive environment…to enable our students to succeed in the 21st century.” It’s one of 30 schools in Illinois where not a single student can read at grade level. 
Chicago’s mayoral candidates may seem like they’re paying attention to the plight of the black community when they talk about crime, boosting spending for city schools, and tough job prospects. But if you won’t talk about births to unmarried mothers, kids raised without fathers and students who are functionally illiterate, you’re skating past the root causes of today’s troubles.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s recent campaign ad claims “she’s put more police on the streets.” But the city’s own data shows that claim is simply not true. Sworn police officers assigned to the city’s 22 police districts for regular patrol duties are down 19 percent since Lightfoot took office in April of 2019.
A program that seems to work, and an update on earnings on money held by the Treasurer.
Ted joined Perri Small on WVON to talk about why its such a problem for Tony Sanders – who ran a district where just two students in ten can read at grade level – to be promoted to State Superintendent, why teachers and administrators in Chicago and across the state get away with simply passing children up and out of the school system, why education is foundational to closing the economic gap for black Illinoisans, and more.
Pritzker’s Illinois is no exemplar and Pritzker has no standing in the debate on this or any other free speech issue.
Ten Illinois vendors were ranked in the lowest category, “high risk,” and three were among the best, labeled “low risk.”
Ted was on Chicago’s Morning Answer with Dan and Amy to talk about the U.S House Republicans’ resolution on rejecting socialism, why Chicago’s obsession with “equity” only hurts those it supposedly helps, the latest news about Chicago’s mayoral race and the illusions that hide the problems with Mayor Lightfoot’s 2023 budget.
Chicago’s structural budget problems and the city’s deeply underwater pensions should be a big deal this mayoral election, but they haven’t been and they won’t be. Tax coffers are overflowing right now as a result of the billions in federal Covid aid that’s come into Illinois, and that’s allowing the city’s fiscal mess to go largely ignored.
Chùy Garcia’s vote against the resolution is particularly significant because he’s a candidate for mayor in Chicago, and the vote is one more bit of evidence about where he stands on big picture issues.
Chicago’s shockingly low arrest rates for most crimes continue to give lawbreakers a green light to carry on. Fresh, end-of-year City of Chicago data for 2022 reveal that arrests were made for only 5 percent of offenses in Chicago’s major crime categories.
“This is the first attempt by a sitting Member of Congress to enact this type of reform,” said Rep. Sean Casten in his Tuesday 
Talk about ending covid with a bang. Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Disaster Declarations 39, 40 and 41 for all 102 Illinois counties on Tuesday when he said he would finally end his three-year long use of Emergency Orders on May 11, 2023.
Gov. Pritzker had the chance to name a new Superintendent that could have shaken up the system. Instead, Pritzker chose Tony Sanders, Superintendent of U-46 in Elgin. At U-46, just 1 in every 10 minority students can read at grade level. For all students, it’s just 2 in 10.
The list is long of leading Chicago civic organizations and people who’ve long stood silent as the world watches the city self-destruct. The City Club of Chicago is now part of the problem.
Ted was on with Jeff Berkowitz of Public Affairs to talk about the issues that Chicago’s mayoral candidates have avoided talking about so far: the dangers of having 1,500 more violent defendants out on electronic monitoring. The fact that 95% of the city’s homicide victims are black or Hispanic. That 9 of every 10 black children in Chicago can’t read at grade level. That Chicagoans are burdened with nearly $100 billion in pension debts. Instead, all the candidates can talk about is “equity” and the need for “investment” in the 
It’s back. Namely, that specious argument that Chicago’s 695 murders in 2022 are nothing much to worry about because there’ve been other years when the total was considerably higher. The “So what? It used to be worse” argument is utter nonsense and callous, dehumanizing, and dangerous.
Beginning next year, Illinois employers of any size will be required to provide at least 40 hours of paid leave per year to be used for any reason.
The annual interest savings on about $160 million of Chicago social bonds sold last week will save the city only about $48,000 to $80,000 per year, and dropping.
“Crime is coming down gradually in the city,” Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker said at the World Economic Forum recently in Davos, Switzerland. Except it’s not. Overall reported major crimes through January 22 in Chicago are 61% higher than the same span in 2022, and 97% greater than in 2021.
303,000 Illinoisans were still without a job in December, leaving Illinois with a 4.7 percent unemployment rate, the second-worst rate in the country.
Ted was on Chicago’s Morning Answer with Dan and Amy to talk about Mayor Lightfoot’s attempt to sell ‘social bonds’ while sacrificing the city’s future sales tax revenues, Chicago mayoral candidate Brandon Johnson’s long list of proposed tax hikes, why companies continue to leave Illinois, the 218,000 enrollment drop in public schools, and the potential for school choice and Education Savings Accounts in Illinois.
Think what you want about Illinois’ new gun law, but recognize the broader importance of what’s at issue: It’s wrong to say that law enforcement should simply enforce all laws as they are written with no regard to constitutional concerns. “Just following orders” is no way for police to think. In the right circumstances, they can and should defer to the higher law they’ve sworn to uphold.
Gov. JB Pritzker on Thursday announced reopening of Illinois’ homebuyer assistance program called Opening Doors. His press release indicates that the program is blatantly and deliberately discriminatory
Ted joined Jeff Daly of WZUS Decatur to talk about the reintroduction of Pritzker’s progressive tax scheme, the fact that states across the nation are moving toward flat or no income taxes, why the government’s focus on handouts is so destructive, Gov. Pritzker’s unwillingness to admit to Illinois’ out-migration problems, and more.
Why put wind turbines on Lake Michigan when that would cost at least five times as much as putting them on land?
Illinois Sen. Bob Martwick, an ally of Gov. J.B. Pritzker, is reportedly planning to offer a new version of a progressive tax scheme for Illinois “as soon as next month.” A quick scan of national reporting reveals the foolishness of any such tax hike proposal. States across the country are overwhelmingly moving towards flat and zero income tax structures. An Illinois tax hike would be moving in the exact opposite direction, further crippling the state.
Ted was on Chicago’s Morning Answer with Dan and Amy to talk about the absurdity of Mayor Lightfoot selling city “social bonds” to Chicagoans, why its akin to the city selling its own body parts off piece by piece, the injustice of governments taking and selling people’s homes to recoup unpaid property taxes, why poor residents in South Cook are suffering the most from Illinois’ property tax regime, and more.
This week, Chicagoans will get what the city says is a special chance to invest in their own city – and to do social justice while they are at it.
A possible ethics slip-up involving attempted recruitment of Chicago Public Schools students into incumbent Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s re-election effort may or may not result in formal findings against her campaign, but it sorely underscores her misplaced priorities in education and ethics as her tumultuous first term draws to a close.
Ted joined the WJPF Morning Newswatch to talk about Gov. Pritzker’s claim that he helped Illinois surpass $1 trillion GDP, why the governor’s policies have led to a terrible jobs climate, the fact that EV industry is largely avoiding Illinois, and more.
Gov. Pritzker’s says his administration deserves credit for Illinois’ GDP recently breaking $1 trillion. As with so many of his claims, the governor is taking credit for something he had little to do with. The sky-high inflation resulting from the bailouts has jacked up prices, artificially inflating GDP growth over the past two years. It’s the only reason why Illinois broke the $1 trillion mark.
Ted was on Chicago’s Morning Answer with Dan and Amy to talk about the new wave of extreme policies Gov. Pritzker and the legislature are beginning to enact, why Illinois loses people frustrated by the state’s policies, why the state’s pension crisis will lead to higher taxes, the lack of reporting on CPS’ latest sexual abuse revelations, and more.
Ask yourself if Illinoisans in any party wouldn’t overwhelmingly and rightly favor similar rules for both houses of their General Assembly.
Join Ted Dabrowski in Elmhurst for a special event all about Illinois’ failed education system on Wednesday, January 11th.
In yet another late Friday night, lame duck, partisan line vote, Democratic lawmakers in the House voted to boost legislative salaries by nearly $12,000. That near 17 percent increase pushes up pay for part-time lawmaker work to $85,000.
What’s worse than central planning? Autocratic central planning. What’s worse than autocratic central planning? Autocratic central planning that pours hundreds of millions of dollars into a failing effort.
Ted joined the Steve Cochran Show to talk about what caused 104,000 people to leave Illinois in 2021, how the “Workers’ Right Amendment” and its banning of Right to Work may deter businesses from coming to Illinois and the 41 percent increase in crime in Chicago in 2022.
“Push back against the age as hard as it pushes against you.” ― Flannery O’Connor
Oh, the people and things that are taken seriously in Chicago these days.
Talk about shooting yourself in the foot. Illinois lawmakers’ triumph with the “Workers’ Rights” amendment may very well condemn Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s commitment to make Illinois “one of the leading EV hubs in the entire nation.” Illinois is already losing big because the EV revolution is largely happening in Right-To-Work states.
Ted was on Chicago’s Morning Answer with Dan and Amy to review Illinois’ 2022 population losses, the potential consequences of the “Great Re-sort” going on between states, the depressing fact that hundreds of CPS schools are half-empty or less and the corrupt nature of Gov. Pritzker giving out millions in campaign funds to judges and doubling the pay of his state staff.
Weekly COVID-19 data update for January 4, 2023.
The big bold Chicago Tribune headline on January 2nd said this: “CPD: Homicides down 14%.” While that number is factually correct, you can’t help but think the Tribune’s main goal is to make uninformed Chicagoans think crime is down, when in fact overall crime was up 41 percent in 2022. It’s the wrong message for a city struggling with increased lawlessness made worse by city leaders’ failed policies.
Part 2 of Ted’s debate with WVON’s Matt McGill covered the problems facing the black community in Illinois and Chicago and what can be done to fix them. Matt said he had a great interest in Donald Trump, but that Trump and other Republican leaders never talked about a plan specifically for blacks. Ted argues that the message of “equity” preached by current leaders is destructive to the black community – that more handouts and government dependency only makes things worse.
We’re often asked if we ever tire of fighting for Illinois. Nope.
We need a retrospective and accountability at the state level, too, for the simple reason stated at the end of the Homeland Security Committee’s report: If we fail to address these issues, we will remain unprepared for the next public health crisis.
Ted joined Jeff Daly of WZUS Decatur to talk about Illinois’ dismal 2022 Census results, why residents are fleeing this state, why Florida and Texas gained hundreds of thousands of people, and the worries that migrants might bring their politics to the states they are moving to.
Are Illinoisans leaving because of a toxic combination of high taxes, few opportunities and poor policies or is bad weather more to blame? Are states like Texas, Florida and Georgia really the free and prosperous places they claim to be? Is Illinois really all that bad a place to live? And is there really a “Great Re-Sorting” going on? All that and more was covered in Part 1 of Ted’s debate with WVON’s Matt McGill.
More than one-third of Chicago’s 473 traditional public schools are currently running half empty or worse, and the city’s 20 most-empty schools are operating at 25 percent or less capacity. There’s absolutely no reason for these schools to exist, yet they do for two reasons: the Chicago Teachers Union wants them to and Chicago’s political leaders don’t have the spine to say no.
Ted joined Tom Miller on the WJPF Morning Newswatch to talk about Illinois’ population losses in 2022, why our neighbors are growing and the details of domestic migration and what it tells us about Americans’ policy preferences.
Call it what you want – the U-Haul Revolution, the Great Re-Sort or the National Divorce – it’s underway and it’s hugely important.
Ted was on Chicago’s Morning Answer to talk about the 2022 Census numbers and where people and corporations are moving to, why rising crime and high taxes are driving residents away, why Illinoisans continue to vote for the same politicians and when they’ll wake up, the stakes of Chicago’s mayoral race, and more.
New 2022 population data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows Illinois was once again one of the nation’s biggest losers. 
Ted joined Cat Peterson to discuss the impact FTX’s collapse may have on Illinois pensions, the need for pensions funds to be more transparent about the risks they take, and the impact Amendment 1 will have on the 460 teacher union/school board contract negotiations that will happen over the next two years.
Ted was on Chicago’s Morning Answer with Dan and Amy to talk about the latest developments regarding the lawsuit against the SAFE-T Act, why minority communities want more and better policing, the madness that is Chicago’s gun violence victims fund and the importance of the school board elections coming in April.
Ted joined Scott Slocum of WJOL to discuss Gov. Pritzker’s issuance of his 37th Emergency Covid Declaration, the fact that the governor has the power to reinstate the most draconian restrictions if he wanted to and the negative impact of keeping so many Illinoisans dependent on government through Medicaid and food stamp benefits.
The school board candidates Illinoisans elect in April will be the first to negotiate new contracts under the “Workers Rights” Amendment. In all, more than half of Illinois’ 860 school districts will be bargaining with teachers over the next two years.
EVs are the future, we constantly hear. Maybe they are, but if so they shouldn’t need subsidies and their competition shouldn’t be destroyed.
Illinois’ jobs malaise continues. The 
Not huge steps, but we’ll take them. And some interesting history on the subject.
Ted joined Jeff Daly of WZUS Decatur to talk about the how the closing of the auto plant in Belvidere shows that government is terrible at picking winners and losers – in this case the electric vehicle industry. They also discussed the sad milestone of 1,000 days of Gov. Pritzker running the state with emergency orders, the growing state pension crisis, the changes to the SAFE-T Act and more.
Ted was on Chicago’s Morning Answer with Dan and Amy to talk about the hypocrisy of SAFE-T Act proponents calling criticism of the Act wrong and racist…then turning around and enacting those changes, why cashless bail is a massive experiment affecting the lives of black Chicagoans and the sad milestone of 1,000 days under Gov. Pritzker’s Covid executive orders.
Matt Rosenberg joined an in-depth interview with Richard Helppie on his “Common Bridge” interview show. Matt explained how progressive governance has produced such awful results for Chicagoans and emphasizes Chicago is still worth fighting for: “…you see the vibrancy everywhere. I walk sometimes 10 or 14 miles in a day, across Chicago, many of my friends think I’m insane. I love this place. It’s still a fantastic city. So that’s why many of us still fight to try and get better policies enacted.”
Gov. Pritzker recently extended his Disaster Proclamation for Illinois for the 37th straight time, a period that now stretches over 1,000 days. Keeping Illinois a “disaster area” gives the state access to extra Medicaid and food stamps, and that’s creating more government dependency and killing jobs at the same time.
The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board cited Wirepoints’ crime research in its new opinion piece about the SAFE-T Act and Illinois’ upcoming abolition of cash bail.
Illinois state’ pension debts jumped back to near-record high of $140 billion in 2022, due largely to the funds’ poor investment performance. More importantly, COGFA published the fact that Illinois continues to far underpay what it should to the state’s five state-run pension funds.
Help Wirepoints make a difference. Your contributions are tax deductible.
Even before Friday’s layoff announcement, the “Reimagining Electric Vehicles in Illinois” plan had foundered.
Essentially, anybody relying on the Tribune, Sun-Times and WBEZ for news would be unaware of the historic scandals exposed by the laptop and related evidence.
The scheduled high-stakes court hearing on the constitutionality of the SAFE-T Act has been pushed back to December 20 from this Wednesday. Developments suggest the defendants may be ready to argue that the signed amendments would remedy the complaints of the plaintiffs.
Matt Rosenberg joined the Annie Frey show to talk about the changes to the SAFE-T Act, the just-announced delay of the legal challenge to the Act and the problems with expanded electronic monitoring of defendants and criminals.
Matt Rosenberg joined the Steve Cochran Show to talk about the differences between what the previous version SAFE-T Act did versus what the new amendments do, the need for transparency on sentencing reform, and why abolishing cash bail would hurt Illinois’ court system.
Its relevance to Illinois goes far beyond what’s covered in the film, and the consequences of the story it tells are still playing out.
Here are some of the things Hampton stood for. Judge for yourself.
The Illinois Senate and House have approved 308 pages of amendments to the SAFE-T Act. They’ve unmade several messes of their own making, but the bill is still fundamentally flawed and threatens the public interest.
Lawmakers finally offered amendments to the controversial criminal justice “reform” bill just one day before the end of the Illinois state legislature’s fall veto session. After harshly vilifying SAFE-T critics who called out the Act’s problems, now in the 11th hour they’re in effect admitting major missteps.
Crime is getting all the attention these days, but add the inability to compete on jobs to Chicagoland’s long list of failures. Chicagoland was ranked 4th-worst in the country among the nation’s biggest metropolitan areas. With an unemployment rate of 4.3 percent, only the MSAs of Las Vegas, Cleveland and Memphis did worse.
Ted joined Jeff Daly of WZUS Decatur to talk about the limited changes happening to the SAFE-T Act, why the Governor’s ‘monumental’ repayment of the unemployment fund is little more than political theater, why Illinois hasn’t created a net new job in the last 20 years and why Amendment 1 has turned the private sector into second-class citizens.
Matt joined Steve Cochran to discuss the proposed changes to the SAFE-T Act that lawmakers debated on December 1, the language that still needs to be changed and whether or not any of this will make a difference. Getting rid of the 48-hour free roaming pass for EM defendants, making more crimes detainable and restoring the community violence standard is a start, but much more has to be done.
One hundred motor vehicle thefts a day. That’s the recent daily count in Chicago in October as motor vehicle thefts spiked dramatically in the last three months. It’s just one part of the Great Unraveling of Chicago’s justice system that stems from emboldened criminals, a demoralized police force and a leadership class obsessed with soft-on-crime legislation like the SAFE-T Act.
Anything political said or written maliciously that exposes somebody to “contempt, ridicule or obloquy” would be criminalized, along with lots of other speech, under a new bill pending in the Illinois General Assembly.
Illinois has been derelict on repaying the loan, letting interest costs rack up, but it had no trouble finding election year goodies. The loan repayment was made possible by federal bailout money that should have been used for that purpose long ago.
Ted was on Chicago’s Morning Answer with Dan and Amy to talk about the departure of Ed Burke from Chicago’s city council, the coming cosmetic tweaks to the SAFE-T Act, the explosion of crime in Chicago and chaos that would occur if the SEIU managed to push the city’s minimum wage to $25 an hour.
The SAFE-T Act crashes head-on into the state constitution and is based on disproven claims of pretrial defendants widely languishing in jail for want of cash bail. It is an affront to public safety, the legislative process and our communities.
What’s to be done in a state that has added no net new jobs in 20 years and has the highest unemployment rate in the nation? Order employers to pay at least $25 per hour. That’s the new position of Chicago’s powerful chapter of SEIU, the Service Employees International Union.
Pritzker spent about $70 bucks per vote to win his two campaigns. That’s a lot. Biden spent only $13 per vote in 2020.
Ted was on Chicago’s Morning Answer with Dan and Amy to talk about why Illinois’ $38 billion in education spending produces such poor results, why Illinois hasn’t created any net new jobs in over 20 years, the low chance of lawmakers fixing the worst aspects of the SAFE-T Act, and what to expect from union negotiations now that Amendment 1 is in effect.
A new Manhattan Institute brief argues that criminal justice reformers who backed bail changes in Cook County and the SAFE-T Act in Illinois callously ignore the harmful impacts on lower-income, crime-prone minority communities. “The costs of crime are borne on the backs of individuals, families, and businesses that all too often occupy the least privileged neighborhoods in society.”
A Wirepoints review of employment growth across the 50 states shows Illinois’ economy hasn’t created any net new employment in more than 20 years. In fact, Illinois has lost 106,697 net jobs since 2000, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
Financial dupery is heading for another term, so it’s time to give you the full story.
“ESG has been perverted beyond all recognition.” But for ESG with Illinois taxpayer money, it’s full speed ahead.
At 4.6 percent in October, no other state has a higher unemployment rate than Illinois. That’s a 0.1 percent increase from September’s 4.5 percent rate. Illinoisans have long been suffering in one the worst five states for unemployment, but October marks the second month in a row that Illinois has held the nation’s worst jobless rate.
Ted joined Jeff Daly of WZUS Decatur to talk about the results of the midterm election, why extreme one-party rule is bad for everyone, what Amendment 1 will do now that it’s in place, why Dems won’t fix the SAFE-T Act, the coming flood of higher taxes due to more expensive union contracts, and more.
It’s been so long now that most of the media and many Illinoisans no longer care that Gov. J.B. Pritzker continues to maintain a Covid disaster declaration for all of Illinois’ 102 counties. And with the elections out of the way, many may care even less.
Illinois education officials are passing hundreds of thousands of children from one grade to the next even though those students can’t read at grade level. What’s incredible – and infuriating – is just how long this policy has gone on in Illinois. An alert Wirepoints’ reader recently pointed out to us that Chicago Public Schools’ pass-along policy was the subject of a Good Times episode that ran in 1974 – almost 50 years ago.
Anybody genuinely interested in the fate of America’s cites should pay attention to Chicago for the next three and a half months. For a host of reasons, campaigns for those elections will be much different than what we just went through nationally.
The voting results for Amendment 1, dubbed the “Workers’ Rights” Amendment, are still up in the air as of this morning. Whether it passes or not is too close to call.
Cook County Chief Judge Tim Evans is the key architect of the county’s infamous “bail reform.” On Tuesday, Cook County voter retained him by a 70% to 30% vote.
Please comment on your reading of Tuesday’s results, both why you voted as you did and what you think drove the results.
Elections are time to zoom out and step back -– to reflect on where the sum of the details says we have gone, where we are headed and what we want from the election. So, forget for a moment our usual links to supporting information or to any of our 2,068 original columns presenting that information.
France’s oldest newspaper, Le Figaro, sent a reporter to Chicago to look into its crime problem. Wirepoints’ Matt Rosenberg is quoted. A translation follows.
The Wall Street Journal cited Wirepoints’ labor research in its opinion section this week.
Ted joined Jeff Daly of WZUS Decatur to talk about the six facts Gov. Pritzker doesn’t want you to know about Illinois’ 2022 Report Card, why Cook County’s failures with its electronic monitoring of criminals could find their way to your area thanks to the SAFE-T Act and why Illinois now has the worst unemployment rate in the nation.
When it comes, it will indeed be a “revelatory storm” – a grand epiphany that will cause future generations to ask how ours could have been so thoroughly duped.
Electronic monitoring horror stories are too often reported in Cook County. Now the odds are growing that there will be more thanks to the badly misnamed SAFE-T Act.
Jeanne Ives sat in for Bruce DuMont on Beyond the Beltway for a conversation on Illinois education along with Ted Dabrowski, Charles Lipson of the University of Chicago and Patrick Hanley of the New Trier Township Democrats. Matt Rosenberg joined the program in its second half to talk about Chicago’s increasing crime problem and the dangers of the SAFE-T Act.
Ted was on Chicago’s Morning Answer with Dan and Amy to take a closer look at the dismal 2022 education results that Gov. Pritzker said shows “great promise.” Ted pointed out that Gov. Pritzker’s spin is only skin-deep. Peel back his “achievements” on graduation rates, growth and teacher hiring and you’re left with a simple fact: students’ reading proficiency fell again in 2022.
Gov. Pritzker presented a very positive outlook last week when his administration released the state’s 2022 Illinois Report Card. In reality, statewide student reading proficiency dropped again in 2022. Illinois needs an honest look at just how poorly the state has done with what matters most in education: ensuring Illinois’ students can read and do math at a level that ensures their success in the real world.
Ted went on Flannery Fired Up with Mark Poulos of Workers Rights to debate Amendment 1, which voters will decide this coming election day. Ted highlighted the crucial point that proponents want Illinoisans to ignore: that the new rights in the amendment will only apply to government workers.
Matt joined Greg Bishop on WMAY to discuss the impact of the SAFE-T Act on the other Illinois counties outside of just Cook County. They talked about how Cook provides a frightening preview of the bail reform coming Jan. 1 as part of the SAFE-T Act, what parts of the act politicians absolutely need to fix, and why the excuse of “wait until after the election for changes” smells.
In another example of how education data continues to be bastardized in Illinois, 
Militant radicals are chomping at the bit for the constitutional right Amendment 1 will give them: the right to include their vision of a national, Marxist workers’ revolution in their contract demands.
Why would Raoul be covering up a scandal that points directly to Pritzker’s office? Surely it has nothing to do with Pritzker’s campaign 
Ted joined John Kass on The Chicago Way to discuss Pritzker’s lackluster record of the last four years, new data on how the pandemic impacted student achievement, the misconceptions about the ‘SAFE-T’ Act and why Amendment 1 on the ballot in Illinois is bad for the state.
What will Illinois look like when the state’s controversial criminal justice reform bill called the SAFE-T Act is fully implemented January 1? Look to Cook County, which has already crippled its criminal justice system with changes similar to those in the SAFE-T Act.
The high court applied the Act’s new, more lenient sentencing standards that only became law last year to resolve a five-year old criminal sentencing matter for a crime committed six years ago based on a law that’s 35-years old. In effect, the court applied the SAFE-T Act retroactively. Its majority decided that, somehow, the new law tells us what lawmakers intended decades ago.
Ted was on Chicago’s Morning Answer with Dan and Amy to warn Illinoisans about the utter collapse of student outcomes during Pritzker’s COVID lockdowns, how Amendment 1 could lead to police and firefighter strikes and more.
A Wirepoints analysis of ISBE data comparing pre-Covid 2019 student outcomes versus those in 2021 shows reading proficiency for white students fell by 20% compared to 2019, while proficiency for Hispanic and black students fell by 29% and 36%, respectively.
Does the SAFE T Act make Illinois more safe or go easy on criminals? Is Amendment 1 really about workers rights or granting unparalleled power to government unions? Join us on November 2nd as Ted Dabrowski, Mark Glennon and Matt Rosenberg sift through the details of these and other issues on the ballot.
Wirepoints has a new OpEd in the Wall Street Journal detailing the potential impact of Amendment 1: A November ballot measure, which its proponents style the Workers’ Rights Amendment, would make Illinois the nation’s extreme outlier when it comes to giving government unions power over taxpayers. If Illinoisans are fooled into voting for Amendment 1, they can kiss parents’ rights, lower taxes and any chance of a state turnaround goodbye.
We’ve warned consistently that Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s inaction on Illinois’ biggest fiscal problems – pensions, property taxes, unbalanced budgets – would eventually come back to bite the state. Illinoisans have been suffering in one the worst five states for unemployment for several months, but now the state jumped to the number one position.
Their purpose couldn’t be more obvious: To wreck the lives of anybody associated with January 6. Proof of actual misconduct be damned.
Ted went on FOX32 ahead of the second gubernatorial debate between Pritzker and Bailey to tell Mike Flannery what he wanted the candidates to talk about: property taxes and crime.
It’s remarkable that as Illinois state lawmakers make police misconduct data more transparent under the SAFE-T Act, they’ve totally ignored needed reforms to bring similar transparency to felony criminal case sentencing. In places like Cook County, where horrific crimes by repeat offenders are daily news, residents should know who’s responsible.
Ted was on Chicago’s Morning Answer with Dan and Amy to discuss Gov. Pritzker’s 35th Covid Disaster Proclamation. It’s been 950 days that Illinoisans have lived under emergency rules unilaterally set by the governor. Gov. Pritzker has maintained these emergency rules for more than two-thirds of his time in office.
The governor is taking credit when he deserves little to none. If Illinois is any better off financially in the short term, it’s because of the nearly $200 billion in federal Covid bailouts Illinois received. What’s worse, this state is still at the bottom of the barrel nationally when it comes to credit ratings.
Matt joined noted economist Glenn Loury in a wide-ranging discussion about Chicago’s decent into dystopia which included a dive into Chicago’s crime stats, Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s lack of leadership, the potential for a citywide collapse and the reforms/policies the city needs to turn itself around.
“It’s no surprise that Ms. Epps-Johnson, whose actions in election interference were recently deemed illegal and in violation of an anti-Zuckerbucks statute in Virginia, would be participating in a partisan electioneering panel led by President Obama.”
Truth in politics today is easy to hide. The number of crises and governmental failures in America and Illinois are overwhelming — far beyond what most voters can be expected to see. In Illinois, that blindness is worsened by a shrinking media unwilling to question. Gov. JB Pritzker has exploited those circumstances relentlessly and successfully. The record must be corrected.
The sweeping Illinois criminal justice reform bill known popularly as the SAFE-T Act has lately been chewing the political scenery due to its end of cash bail come Jan. 1st. We’ve identified several other problems with the enacted legislation which also need revision.
LaHood’s reasons for urging repayment are solid enough, but there’s more to it: This is a great illustration of how Illinois deceitfully manipulates its claims to be paying its bills and balancing its budget.
Ted was on with Jeff Berkowitz of Public Affairs to talk about the potential impact of Amendment 1. If you need a rundown of all the important points of the amendment covered in just 5 minutes, this video is for you.
Ted was on with Dan and Amy to discuss Gov. Pritzker’s dismissal of any facts he disagrees with, how those with vested interests in the current education system distract from their failures, and how the facts on the ground remain the same: that student achievement remains horrendous and yet teacher ratings remain near 100%.
Ted Dabrowski joined Perri Small on WVON to talk about Amendment 1. Perri was in favor of the Amendment, but after hearing both sides of the argument from Ted and others, she changed to a “No.”
It took only 15 seconds last week for Gov. J.B. Pritzker to reveal what’s so wrong with his brand of leadership, where he refuses to acknowledge Illinois’ many problems and instead, prefers to deflect and name call when someone else draws attention to those problems.
The federal government is engaged in at least some degree of introspection over its failures. But Illinois has seen no reconsideration of its COVID response beyond self-congratulations and award ceremonies for public health officials. No accountability has been imposed for mistakes made.
Supporters of the amendment can’t have it both ways. They can’t claim it would push government wages up and at the same time claim government budgets would improve. Government costs would increase and taxes would have to follow.
In a state buckling under violent crime and political corruption, aren’t there better things for its top legal official to be doing?
Ted was on with Dan and Amy to discuss the contradictions surrounding the “Workers Rights Amendment,” on the ballot for voters to decide this November.
According to the Illinois Report Card, 
More “pandemic relief” spending insanity.
Both sides now agree that at least some changes are needed. But will they be mere tweaks or the major changes critics want? Voters deserve to know before the election.
The arguments for tearing apart Chicago Public Schools and replacing it with a universal school choice program continue to pile higher. The system is an abject failure any way you cut it.
Illinois Congressman Raj Krishnamurthy voted last week along with all Democratic members of the House Oversight Committee to kill a request by GOP committee members to get documents related to the Biden family’s international business deals.
Chicago may think it walled itself off from the issue, but the firestorm is only getting started.
Neither Pritzker or Lightfoot can escape the reality that they’ve lost control over the city’s crime. One statistic that particularly captures their failure is Chicago’s homicide rate compared to that in big-city peers New York and Los Angeles.
President Biden said the pandemic is essentially over, but Governor Pritzker issued his 34th Covid Disaster Proclamation. President of Wirepoints and the Steve Cochran Show talk about why Pritzker issued the proclamation, what the Federal Government is going to do about this, and if the Governor’s Office has too much power.
Bougie, liberal Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts is being widely ridiculed for promptly shipping out some 50 Venezuelan immigrants flown in from Florida. But that’s nothing compared to Chicago, which has boasted of being America’s “most immigrant-friendly city.”
Stay tuned, because national stories on their relationship will no doubt be coming.
Never mind that President Joe Biden declared “the pandemic is over” during a 60 Minutes interview Sunday night. In Illinois, it’s apparently still a “disaster” that warrants a declaration covering the entire state – all 102 counties. Gov. Pritzker issued his 34th Disaster Declaration on September 16, 2022, marking more than 900 days of Illinoisans living under emergency rules.
Teach a man to fish and he will still just eat the fish given away for free.
Ted and Steve Cochran talked about the political situation surrounding the 500 undocumented immigrants bussed from Texas to Chicago. Both sides are playing politics with immigrants stuck in the middle. But the whole problem stems from the crisis at the southern border – which one side of the political aisle refuses to acknowledge.
Come join Ted Dabrowski and state legislators Dan Caulkins, Brad Halbrook, Chris Miller, Adam Niemerg and Blaine Wilhour as they discuss who is responsible for the failures in Illinois education and how Amendment 1 would further erode parents’ rights in this state.
Tier 2 Illinois pensioners now have sufficient numbers to stand up to Tier 1 about the inadequate and unfair deal they have compared to Tier 1 pensioners. Amendment 1, if passed, would give them just what they need.
Chicago will again exceed its 2019 baseline for homicides. Not only homicides but sharp hikes in motor vehicle theft, theft, carjacking, and other crimes are leading to trouble for the city as business leaders – including recently McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski – continue to question the city’s viability. 
Just in time for the elections, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is set to send out income and property tax rebate checks as part of his $1.8 billion “taxpayer relief” plan. The problem is, none of what the governor is offering is real relief for struggling Illinoisans. Instead, it’s just Pritzker giving back a few hundred dollars after stripping Illinoisans of thousands.
The Wall Street Journal featured Wirepoints’ research on Chicago’s crime rate in their opinion section this week.
Exploit compassion for undocumented migrants, blame Texas for a border crisis created by his own party, apply maximum hypocrisy and use emergency powers for political grandstanding. That’s what this is about, and it probably will work with Pritzker’s intended audience, his base on the left.
Student outcomes were already dismal before Covid-19, but now they’re even worse due to the state’s draconian pandemic policies of school closings, remote learning and strict mitigations. Ted Dabrowski traveled to Geneva to speak to parents and concerned residents about who is responsible for the failures in Illinois education, the threat Amendment 1 poses to parents rights and what we can do to improve outcomes for all Illinois students.
Establishment NGOs can try to polish CPS’ image, but Wirepoints doesn’t buy the hype that things are looking bright and promising at CPS. You shouldn’t either. The actual numbers show why.
Ted was on with Dan and Amy to talk about the implications of giving government unions even more power under Amendment 1, why Illinoisans home values haven’t grown in the past 20 years and how Chicago’s data on crime and education show how much the city’s leadership has failed residents.
What were they thinking? You truly have to ask that about whoever drafted Amendment 1, which is on the ballot for Illinois voters to approve or reject in November.
Come and join Ted Dabrowski Sept. 15 in Glen Ellyn as he discusses who is responsible for the failures in Illinois education, the damage CRT and DEI inflict on students and how Illinoisans can restore power to parents and children through school choice.
Why hasn’t Attorney General Kwame Raoul joined this lawsuit? That’s a silly, rhetorical question. If you don’t know why, start paying attention to what’s become of your nation.
Matt joined Greg Bishop on WMAY to discuss the sharp rise since 2019 in felonious killings of Illinois police officers.
The families of children shot or killed, the victims of violent assault, the people terrorized by random crime in their neighborhoods, the students stuck in empty, failing schools, the unemployed with no hope of a job – that’s misery that shouldn’t be ignored. Yes, there’s similar problems in other big cities, too, but that doesn’t mean Chicago should get a pass for the pain its broken policies inflict.
Ted was on with Dan and Amy to talk about the damage done to students by the school shutdowns during Covid, the ironfisted control teachers unions will have over education if Amendment 1 passes and the continued growth of violence and crime in Chicago.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joined Tom Miller on the WJPF Morning Newswatch to spread the word about Amendment 1. Under the amendment, Illinois would become the nation’s extreme outlier when it comes to government union powers. No other state protects bargaining, creates unprecedented rights or blocks Right to Work like Amendment 1 would.
“We will rely on no technology before it’s time” should have been a cornerstone in Illinois’ energy policy. The consequences of that mistake are rapidly becoming apparent.
Ted Dabrowski joined Shannon Adcock of Awake Illinois to discuss the details of Amendment 1 and its potential impact on Illinoisans. If you care about property taxes, parents’ rights or union powers – and the future of Illinois – you should care about Amendment 1. It’s the most important vote Illinoisans will take this election, and perhaps the most important in decades.
Let’s hope the WSJ editorial sparks a long overdue debate about Amendment 1. So far, Illinois media have all but ignored it. More importantly, let’s hope voters get educated about the amendment because, as the WSJ concludes, they “will now have to prevent this union takeover of state government and its dire implications for education and the state economy and public finances.”
Ted was on with Dan and Amy to talk about the video on CPS’s website promoting a false narrative about police shootings of unarmed minorities. The actual numbers don’t match the hype: not more than one unarmed black Chicagoan was killed by police in any given year since 2015.
Eight in 10 African-Americans and about half of white Biden voters “thought that young black men were more likely to be shot to death by police” than be one of the 7,500 blacks to die in a car accident each year. The reality is far different. In 2020, a total of 243 blacks were shot and killed by police nationwide with 18 of them unarmed.
“If somebody committed workman’s comp fraud, they should be held accountable,” Gov. JB Pritzker said about allegations respecting Jenny Thornley and Pritzker’s staff. Where’s the accountability?
Come and join legendary reporter John Kass and Wirepoints Senior Editor Matt Rosenberg at Evanston’s Canal Shores on September 18th!
Ted was on the Shaun Thompson Show to talk about how CPS and CTU are keeping dozens of near-empty schools open across the city. Shaun called the setup a money fraud, but Ted argues the situation is much worse: it’s a disaster for the students that are supposed to be the next generation of Chicagoans, but most can’t even read at grade level.
We were asked by several readers for more information about Chicago’s 20 most-empty schools. What we found made already-disturbing facts even worse.
Ted and Mark were on separate segments with Mike Flannery of Fox32 to discuss the bad idea that is President Biden’s student loan relief. Ted remarked it’s unfair to those who sacrificed and already paid their debts or have never gone to college and Mark said that even the Dept. of Education and Speaker Pelosi know the action isn’t legal.
With the knowledge that Covid isn’t going away anytime soon, the question that should be asked is: How long will Pritzker be allowed to operate via emergency rules? It’s a question that should be asked of the media, political elite and ordinary Illinoisans.
Ted was on with Dan and Amy to talk about CTU’s “F*** YOU!” to Wirepoints, the fact that a third of CPS schools are only half full, Illinois’ continued failure to promote jobs and growth and how Gov. Pritzker refuses to consider the balance of lives and livelihoods on both sides of his heavy-handed Covid response.
The union used the whole word and said his answer was on the record, according to Mike Flannery of FOX 32 Chicago. The spokesman added nothing more about the numbers and did not join the video segment. Is the union so confident in its political power that it can respond to legitimate issues in such a manner? Is that how the union believes Chicago students should be educated to engage in discourse?
Ted was on with Mike Flannery to discuss how Chicago leaders and the Chicago Teachers Union are failing students horribly by keeping dozens of near-empty schools open across the city. Flannery asked the CTU participate in the interview – their official response was “F*** Wirepoints.”
If you’ve received an Illinois income tax refund check lately from Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza, you probably got an insert from her. It’s politicking that should not be done through official state communications. And it’s deceitful.
The ongoing North Side crime wave in Chicago brought three armed robberies on one day this week to Edgewater. “Am I going to get a stray bullet just walking into the CVS? We have overall a very safe community, but we have to be cognizant that could change at any time.”
New U.S. Bureau of Labor data shows Illinois’ unemployment rate in July was the 3rd-worst in the country. Last month Illinois had the nation’s 5th-worst rate.
Talk of a “silver-lining,” no matter how half-hearted, is wrong considering CPS already spends $28,000 per student to deliver dismal results, empty schools, and little accountability.
Matt Rosenberg joined Lisa Dent on Chicago’s Afternoon News to explain how the constant power struggle between the Chicago Teachers Union and City Hall leadership result in empty, failing schools.
Politicizing the baseline comparison year isn’t the only way that the volume of crime in Chicago is downplayed. The second is failure to note how much crime nationally – and certainly in Chicago – goes unreported to police by victims. It’s a lot.
It was just a year ago that Gov. J.B. Pritzker and other state leaders were celebrating an improvement in Illinois’ pension and budget health. 
Major crimes spread from Chicago’s South and West Sides to the city’s downtown and upscale neighborhoods. Now Chicago’s seemingly intractable crime problem is spreading across city and county lines, as well. This is what happens when basic principles of policing and law and order are subverted by a political establishment which puts the rights of the accused ahead of the rights of victims.
Supporters of Amendment 1, the so-called Workers Rights Amendment, are all over the place with contradictory, outlandish claims about what the amendment would do if approved by voters in November’s election.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joined Tom Miller on the WJPF Morning Newswatch to talk about how the federal bailouts papered over the state’s financial problems, how poorly Illinois compares to its neighbors on jobs and growth and why Amendment 1 is the most important vote for Illinoisans in November.
Walking trails, block club events, planting trees, cleaning up vacant lots and a more responsive 311 center don’t cut it, as the BGA says. “Researchers say all these are noble goals, but do little to address the underlying conditions contributing to bloodshed in the same neighborhoods year after year.”
Most Illinoisans will go to the voting booth this November thinking the race for governor is all that really matters. But three other November 2022 votes matter a lot, too, a couple being arguably more consequential than the governor’s race.
Ted joined Jeff Daly of WZUS Decatur to talk about Amendment 1, a proposal on the November 2022 ballot that would effectively codify Illinois’ extreme labor laws into the constitution.
Join Ted Dabrowski and the Three Headed Eagle Alliance on Sept. 13 as they discuss who is responsible for the failures in Illinois education and how we can restore power to parents and children through school choice.
Of CPS’ 478 stand-alone “traditional” or non-charter, non-contract schools, one third of them, 150, are less than half-full, according to CPS. The 20 most-empty CPS schools are only 5 to 25 percent full – most with depressing educational outcomes.
Nearly 20,000 FOID cards have been revoked in Cook County but have yet to be turned in or seized from their owners, and that includes more than 4,000 residents deemed a “mental health concern.”
Wirepoints’ Mark Glennon and the Steve Cochran Show discuss the Jenny Thornley affair and how Kwame Raoul and Gov. Pritzker laughed off the serious questions brought by NBC5’s Mary Ann Ahern.
Ted was on with Dan and Amy to talk about Chicago’s explosive rise in crime, the continued failure of prosecutors like Kim Foxx and the twists and turns of the Jenny Thornley affair.
It’s no wonder Illinoisans are so ticked off about fuel prices here in Illinois vs. the lower prices in other states. In case you didn’t know it, Illinois has the highest gas prices of any state east of the Rockies.
Wirepoints recently criticized Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s proclamation in which he declared Illinois a “disaster area” for a 32nd consecutive 30-day period. The governor can’t have it both ways, we said. He can’t claim he’s managed Covid successfully and yet, more than two years later, continue to say Illinois is a disaster. 
Ted Dabrowski joined Perri Small on WVON to debate what the city and the police need to do to successfully tackle crime in Chicago and discuss the recent rise in carjackings.
The Pritzker Administration has offered no answers and the questions have become still more serious thanks to additional allegations and evidence in a whistleblower lawsuit recently unsealed and made public.
Ted was on with Dan and Amy to talk about the exodus from Dem-run cities like San Francisco and Chicago, the Chicago leadership’s obsession with woke causes, Illinois’ stagnant economic growth and how Florida is the big winner in the battle for people and their wealth.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker can’t have it both ways. He can’t claim he’s managed Covid successfully and yet, more than two years later, still proclaim Illinois a “Disaster Area.” Illinois is now one of just 14 states still under Emergency Orders and the only one of its neighbors to still implement Covid rules via executive fiat.
Listen to Newsom and Pritzker and you’d be forgiven for thinking that Americans have been leaving Florida in droves. To the contrary, Florida is the big winner when it comes to the state-to-state competition for migrating Americans and their money. California and Illinois, meanwhile, remain two of the nation’s biggest losers.
Wirepoints’ Ted Dabrowski was on the Steve Cochran Show to discuss Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s rumored run for president as Pres. Biden’s approval collapses, voters’ lack of confidence in Vice President Kamala Harris and why voters must do their research before voting.
He really didn’t need to say he has no intention of playing by rules, as he did. The speech showed it.
Ted was on with Dan and Amy to talk about Illinois’ poor economic growth under Gov. Pritzker. The state’s GDP growth is anemic compared to its neighbors and the rest of the states and the unemployment rate is tied for the nation’s 4th-highest.
Chicago’s growing carjacking problem is a microcosm of what’s gone wrong in the city. Carjackings are more frequent, they are more weaponized, and there are fewer consequences than at almost any time in recent history.
The Wall Street Journal featured Wirepoints’ research on Gov. Pritzker’s poor economic record in their opinion section this week.
Ted Dabrowski joined Jeanne Ives of Breakthrough Ideas to talk about crime, Governor Pritzker’s five phases of restoring Illinois, the financial disaster that is Illinois’ fiscal policy, how much residents will have to pay to repay the federal government’s loans, and how Illinois’ education system is failing.
Pritzker gets a pass on most all of this in Illinois, and there’s far more to tell about his record of deception. We’ll see whether the national press lets him get away with it as he pursues his interest in the White House.
For Illinois’ state funded pensions, a -6% return would increase unfunded liabilities from $121 billion in 2021 to $143 billion in 2022, an 18% jump. The unfunded ratio would rise to 58% from 52%.
To all those Illinoisans who opposed the progressive tax back in 2020: you’re being proven more right every day. This year alone, four states decided to transition their individual state income tax from progressive to flat.
Ted was on with Dan and Amy to talk about Governor Pritzker’s 31 consecutive emergency orders and how they allow him to manage the state via executive fiat, as well as the potential future of Pritzker becoming vice-president of the U.S. because of his championing of radical progressive policies.
As only Kamala Harris could say with her unique eloquence, as 
“The sheer number and political stature of the Illinois elected officials and business leaders who were implicated, indicted or convicted in 2020 is staggering.” How much longer will Illinois – and especially Cook County taxpayers – accept public thievery as part of the due course of things?
With rumors heating up about Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s potential run for president it’s a good moment to review the governor’s economic performance since he took office in 2019. Illinois’ growth and jobs numbers aren’t pretty – they’re dwarfed by the much better numbers coming from neighboring states.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joined Jeff Daly of WZUS Decatur to talk about the smoke-and-mirrors game that is Gov. Pritzker’s gas tax “relief,” the reality of mass shootings in Illinois, Pritzker’s progressive vision and his potential run for president.
In The Dialogue’s first video podcast, Mark Glennon sits down with Orland Park mayor and current GOP candidate for Illinois’ 6th congressional district Keith Pekau to discuss how got started in politics, how his policies in Orland Park could translate to the federal level and where he stands on a number of hot button issues this election cycle.
If we really want to unwind and correct what puts some populations at such great risk for bad economic and social outcomes, we should figure out how to accentuate the advantages of marriage. 2020 Census data show that median income was a remarkable 173 percent higher for black married couples with children versus single black female householders with children.
Matt Rosenberg joined Perri Small on WVON to talk about the facts of Wirepoints’ latest report: New 2021 Chicago data shows 400,000 high-priority incidents where dispatchers had no police available to send. Matt told Perri that two things could help increase the number of on-time police responses to 911 calls: more cops on the street and more cops in general.
Ted was on with Dan and Amy to talk about the tragic shooting in Highland Park and how a lack of morale and manpower is causing serious delays in responding to hundreds of thousands of 911 calls in Chicago.
Don’t get duped by “balanced budget” claims. In stark contrast to those claims, the state lost another $4.5 billion in fiscal year 2021, driving it deeper into its already worst-in-the-nation hole of negative net position.
Years of no support from city leadership, anti-policing legislation and the damaging rhetoric of the “defund” movement have taken a toll on Chicago police morale and manpower. All that has left police so thin that, in 2021, one of law enforcement’s most basic functions, responding to high-priority emergency service calls in a timely manner, was regularly beyond their capacity.
Wirepoints’ Ted Dabrowski joined WXAN radio host Will Stephens to discuss the results of Illinois’ gubernatorial primary, the collapse of establishment candidates on both the right and left, the dynamics of J.B. Pritzker vs Darren Bailey and the big issues that will likely dominate their campaigns.
Ted was on with Dan and Amy to talk about Illinois’ primary elections, Chicago leaders’ attempt to woo businesses to the city with their pro-abortion credentials, the loss of Citadel to Florida, and more.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker has made a big deal about “balancing the budget” during his three years in office, but like we’ve said all along, the budget isn’t balanced and hasn’t been for years. Any claims of balance are simply untrue. For proof, look at the recent Auditor General’s review of Illinois’ five state-run pension funds.
What’s clear is that there’s far less division than it seems from the headlines and heated rhetoric. Simplistic polls about how many are “pro-choice” versus “pro-life” often obscure the full story.
“First and foremost, respect the taxpayer. Start losing taxpayers and it’s a downward spiral from there.” Illinois politicians aren’t heeding that advice. Now their failures are pushing out the state’s wealthiest resident. Ken Griffin is moving to Florida and he’s taking his company, Citadel, with him.
So here we are. Illinois is now more equal. And poorer. The political establishment has one less opponent to worry about. The planet indeed evolves, as Griffin’s wing at the Field Museum shows. Just not always for the better.
Ted joined Brian Barnhart on WDWS Radio’s Penny for Your Thoughts to talk about the poor education results in Champaign and Urbana’s public schools. In Champaign, 54% of white and just 10% of black 3rd-graders can read at grade level. It’s worse in Urbana – just 28% of white and 6% of black 3rd-graders are reading-proficient.
Brownout risk and cost issues loom.
Political winds are likewise blowing strongly in favor of school choice.
Ted was on with Dan and Amy to talk about Gov. Pritzker’s New Hampshire speech where Pritzker unabashedly laid out his extreme progressive worldview. They also discussed Illinois’ $1.9 B in unemployment insurance fraud and the future of School Choice under Iowa Governor Kim Reynold’s efforts.
Gov. JB Pritzker on Saturday spoke at the New Hampshire Democratic Party’s annual convention, a move widely seen as an expression of interest in running for president.
The good news for Illinois: the number of unemployed Illinoisans is down by over 110,000 compared to a year ago. The bad news: the state is tied with Pennsylvania for the nation’s 4th-worst unemployment rate.
A new, independent audit conducted for the Illinois Auditor General found that Illinois lost to fraud over half of $3.6 billion of federal money that went to the state for it to administer under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program (PUA) — $1.9 billion lost to fraud. But there’s far more.
Mark and Ted discuss how Gov. Pritzker may be on his way to a presidential campaign and what that means for Illinoisans. Plus: more on the possibility of rolling brownouts coming to Illinois this summer.
Wirepoints’ Ted Dabrowski joined Greg Bishop on Air to discuss the statewide failure of school districts to educate Illinois’ children. Ted pointed out the typical excuse, that Illinois doesn’t spend enough on education, doesn’t hold water. Illinois already spends more on education than any other state in the Midwest.
Ted joined Dan Proft and Amy Jacobson to talk about how Gov. Pritzker and other leaders have no plan for how Illinois is going to move to having 50% of its electricity production coming from renewable sources by 2040 and 100% from clean energy sources by 2050. Illinois is going too fast in terms of dependency on renewables – leading, in part, to sky-high gas prices and the potential for brownouts this summer.
Critics of Illinois’ aggressive effort to shift to renewable sources for making electricity have long said it’s like flying an airplane while trying to build it. It crashed faster than even they expected. The risk of brownouts and electricity cost are jumping quickly in Illinois, and it’s not just green energy skeptics sounding the alarm.
The government has failed spectacularly to manage the risk of inflation. Consider the simple act of eating breakfast. It’s 45 percent more expensive than it was two years ago. For many, that’s no surprise given the unprecedented government-enforced lockdowns, the trillions of dollars spent on bailouts and a haphazard implementation of the green energy agenda.
When we sum up Illinois’ out-migration losses since 2000, it turns out the state has lost a cumulative 
It’s hard for us who try to keep open minds about climate issues. Please, make it easier for us.
Dan Proft and Amy Jacobson spent half an hour reviewing Wirepoints’ latest education report. Proft pointed out that the bureaucrats running the education system aren’t interested in improving standards. Instead, they’re more interested in making excuses and rationalizing the poor results that already exist.
Wirepoints’ Ted Dabrowski joined WLS 890’s Pete McMurray and Judy Pielach to talk about how the Illinois education system isn’t preparing students for the future. Ted asked how struggling cities like Decatur are going to survive when the students entering the workforce can’t read to do math at grade level.
The SAT results for District 200 are damning, and the district’s approach is to engineer “equity” rather than lift all boats through increased rigor and focus.
Mark and Ted discuss the top stories of the week, including more record setting gas prices and school funding practices that have plagued the state for decades.
Zero media coverage on this, but on Friday before Memorial Day Gov. JB Pritzker signed yet another COVID 
Just 8 percent of black students in Rockford Public Schools can read at grade level, and only 15 percent of students overall. And yet 66 percent of students graduate and nearly 95 percent of district teachers are rated “excellent or proficient.”
How to create opportunity is debated fiercely. But let’s just say it: opportunity for at-risk kids has to include full-on, raging K-12 school choice. So that children from low-income households can benefit from high-expectations learning and get on a path to career and life success.
The data Wirepoints presents in this report represents an absolute dereliction of duty by those who run Illinois’ public schools. Just 7% of Rockford’s black, 16% of Decatur’s white, and 11% of Elgin’s Hispanic 3rd-graders can read at grade level.
Despite what you often hear, studies show that Illinois’ balance of payments with the federal government has been positive for at least a couple years, a reversal from years past. And the newest studies show that the positive balance of payments is growing compared to other states. Illinois is more of a taker than ever before.
Ted and Mark attempt to make sense of the contradicting census data after new information was released regarding Illinois’ population. Also, a look at the first GOP debates in the race for governor and more.
Just 8 percent of black students in Rockford Public Schools can read at grade level. And only 11 percent of Hispanic students and 27 percent of white students can do math at grade level. Join us as Ted Dabrowski and Rep. Joe Sosnowski discuss who is responsible for the failures in Illinois education and how we can restore power to parents and children through school choice.
We’re amidst The Great Unraveling. This is why angry, twisted young men embark on mass killings. Like the young shooters taking Chicago down a greased skid to hell, they’ve let their worst instincts, resentments, and hatreds loose. This isn’t new. And no law has yet stemmed the tide of mass shootings. Chicago has been awash in mass shootings since at least 2019.
Illinois’ new bond offering says it all. Whatever benefit Illinois got from credit upgrades, which resulted largely mostly from federal largesse, has been more than cancelled out by higher rates caused by that very largesse.
Wirepoints’ Matt Rosenberg joined WLS 890’s Pete McMurray and Judy Pielach to talk about an important subject that gets little attention: the high rate of children born to unmarried mothers in Illinois. Those rates matter because they relate heavily to crime and poverty.
Just a few sentences recently written by the Chicago Sun-Times on the recent CTU leadership election shed light on why education in Chicago’s public schools fails so miserably. It was a choice between more social justice activism vs. more pay and benefits. Student outcomes and welfare weren’t even part of the equation.
Every year, states across the country compete with each other for people and their wealth as millions of Americans move between states. Florida, the nation’s perennial winner, gained the most people and income overall in 2020. Illinois lost the 3rd-most behind New York and California.
The evidence that matters is from recent years and taxpayers are particularly important. That evidence overwhelmingly continues to show shrinkage, and nothing being cited in the census or the new Census Bureau survey refutes it.
A Wirepoints analysis of the Internal Revenue Service’s just-released migration data shows Illinois lost, on net, another 101,000 residents to other states in 2020. The state ranked third-worst nationally for net resident losses and loss of wealth ($8.5 billion).
Ted joined joined Dan Proft and Amy Jacobson to talk to talk about the confusion surrounding the U.S. Census Bureau’s Post-Enumeration Survey of the 2020 Census. Ted talked about why it was simply wrong for status-quo politicians to claim that Illinois has grown to over 13 million people.
Births to unmarried mothers heighten the risks of low achievement, lower adult income, and greater risk of incarceration. That’s all too evident in Chicago, where eight of every 10 black babies are born to unmarried mothers. Exactly when it’s most needed, the black fatherhood conversation has become off-limits. That’s all wrong.
Ted joined Greg Bishop on Air with WMAY to talk to talk about the confusion surrounding the U.S. Census Bureau’s Post-Enumeration Survey of the 2020 Census. The Census Bureau told Wirepoints that Illinois’ population is still 12.8 million. That’s also the trend we get from IRS and moving company data.
The topic is fraught: Social scientists report that births to unmarried mothers heighten risks of poor educational, behavioral, and employment outcomes, especially for young black males in poor neighborhoods. In 2020, 79 percent of all Illinois black births were out of wedlock compared to 53 percent all Latino births, 27 percent of white births and 8 percent of Asian births.
A remarkable replay of history ignored, now for a second time. Read what the Washington Post wrote in 1979.
Gov. JB Pritzker on Friday signed a new bill providing property tax relief for senior, veteran and disabled homeowners. What nobody said is that those reductions for some mean increases for others. It’s just a matter of shuffling the property tax burden.
Ted was on FOX32 (Chicago) with Mike Flannery to talk about the confusion surrounding the U.S. Census Bureau’s Post-Enumeration Survey of the 2020 Census. Ted emphasized that, no matter how things play out with the Census numbers, Illinois is still losing the battle for people and incomes compared to states like Texas and Florida.
You may hear from Gov. J.B. Pritzker and other lawmakers that Illinois’ population actually topped 13 million in 2020. That the 18,000 decline in population didn’t actually happen. That’s not correct: Illinois’ official count for 2020 is still 12,830,632 people – not 13 million.
Ted and Matt discuss the continued decay of downtown Chicago after another mass shooting on State Street just blocks from the Magnificent Mile.
Ted Dabrowski appeared on The Perri Small Show to discuss Wirepoints’ latest report: “Thirty years of pain: Illinoisans suffer as property tax bills grow far faster than household incomes, home values”. Ted pointed out that any way you cut them, the property taxes Illinoisans pay are punitive.
With Chicago’s ongoing weekend shootings, killings, and teen mob scenes in the streets drawing 
How unemployment claims were mismanaged during the COVID pandemic is shaping up as a monumental fiasco. It’s therefore no surprise that the State of Illinois is stonewalling the facts about its share of the problem so aggressively.
Matt was on the Shaun Thompson Show on 560AM The Answer this week to talk about his recent article: “Violence prevention can’t be bought.” Matt pointed out that Chicago’s anti-violence program READI has no overall net positive effect and that actual deterrents – arrests and prosecutions – are down for many crimes.
A demagogic, grandstanding conspiracy theory. Even And former Clinton Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, a leading Democratic economist, slammed the bill, calling it “dangerous nonsense.”
Mark and Ted discuss what could be in store for Chicago as crime and temperatures begin to heat up. Plus, a look at the top stories of the week including President Biden visiting Chicago, residents leaving Chicago and the upcoming primary election.
Last month in Chicago, a new study was unveiled showing the supposed benefits of a violence prevention program called READI. But the research that’s being hailed as proof of concept is anything but that. The program has no overall net positive effect.
Electric car-maker Rivian’s stock price collapse is a clear example of why Illinois politicians have no business trying to pick industry winners and losers. And so are the warnings of potential brownouts in downstate Illinois.
Because what’s needed for a truly effective marketing effort cannot be said, any substitute is doomed.
Wirepoints’ Matt Rosenberg joined Garry Meier to talk all about Chicago – its crime, its economy, its people and its politics.
Violent crime – which includes murder, robbery, criminal sexual assault and aggravated assault/battery – was up 38 percent in 2021 in Aurora versus the baseline pre-Covid, pre-George Floyd year of 2019.
Mark Glennon spoke with Matt Bubala and Andrea Darlas on WLS-AM 890 about the latest double-talk surrounding Amendment 1. Unions claim the amendment is all about workplace safety, but it’s really about an unprecedented expansion of public union powers.
Ted and Mark sit down with Walter Banks and Nathan Cunneen from the American Federation for Children and the recently launched School Choice Boyz to discuss their own personal school choice stories and the message they hope to spread to all families searching for more education opportunities.
Ted joined Dan Proft and Amy Jacobson this week to discuss the need for parents to keep an eye on their local sex ed curriculums and the problem of rising crime in Rockford and other downstate cities.
When it comes to crime in Illinois, Chicago tends to suck the oxygen right out of the room. But other Illinois cities are having their own troubles. The takeaway: things aren’t looking good in Rockford. Not at all.
Which is it, amendment supporters? Is there something new and wonderful for workers under the amendment or does existing law stay in place? Either way, why does the amendment say something entirely different? We think they are being duplicitous by claiming on the one hand that preemption limits the effect of the amendment, but shooting for the stars with amendment language that’s as broad as your imagination.
It’s crazy, considering the facts, but Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot still thinks she can battle states like Texas for people and companies using her “equity” agenda as a lure. Somebody ought to tell the mayor that “equity” doesn’t sell in a business environment as bad as Illinois’.
Not a shred of criticism or even news about the board in any Illinois media. Same for Illinois politicians, Democrat and Republican alike. That’s perhaps just as frightening as the creation of the board. Upon his 2020 election win, Joe Biden said, “America is a beacon for the globe. We will lead not only by the example of our power, but by the power of our example.” That indeed should be our aspiration, but this, this is the example America puts forth?
Ted joined The Morning Buzz with Cat of 92.9 Bloomington to discuss the rise of car thefts in Chicago.
Through last week there’ve been 3,980 reported motor vehicle thefts citywide. That’s 47 percent more to date versus the last pre-Covid year of 2019. At this pace the city is on track for at least 12,000 car thefts this year. That’s almost 33 thefts a day.
“Until we make the significant reforms, we’re going to keep suffering.” Ted Dabrowski talked about what Governor Pritzker isn’t saying about the state budget to Matt Bubala and Andrea Darlas on 890 WLS.
“If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein.” That star still guides the courts, but some in Illinois are in the dark. They include trustees of the University of Illinois, Gov. JB Pritzker and the majority of the Illinois General Assembly. Somebody needs to enlighten them. In court.
It’s not surprising that Illinois has retaken the top spot for nation’s highest effective property taxes. According to ATTOM, a leading curator of real estate data nationwide for land and property data, Illinois’ effective tax rate was 1.86% in 2021, followed by New Jersey at 1.73%.
Mark sits down with Anna St. John & Adam Schulman from the Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute to discuss their legal work on free speech cases and their opinions on the legality of the University of Illinois’ Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policies and Gov. Pritzker’s gas tax signage law.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joined Scott Slocum on WJOL in Joliet. They discussed the nine things Gov. Pritzker hasn’t told Illinoisans about the 2023 budget.
Ted joined Dan Proft and Amy Jacobson this week to discuss the fundamental problems JB Pritzker has campaigning for tourism to attract people to Illinois as Cook County hits over a thousand murders.
What do most progressive priorities today have in common? Think about it, and you may find that most are intended to alleviate the pain caused by earlier progressive policies. That’s the common denominator. Consider some examples of recent initiatives and legislation in Chicago, Cook County and state government, all of which are run by progressives.
Wirepoints’ Matt Rosenberg joined Heartland Politics with Robin Johnson of WVIK/NPR to talk about his return to Chicago, what he sees as failed progressive governance in neighborhoods, crime, schools and corruption, and what should be done about it.
Mark and Ted discuss the ongoing battle between free speech and censorship that is occurring in the media, online and in Illinois.
Traditional media beclowned itself last week at a Chicago conference on “disinformation.” That’s a story in itself, but the bigger story is how they covered up even that story, peddling disinformation about a conference on disinformation. The guilty include Illinois media, which is further guilty of still suppressing the Hunter Biden laptop story that is part of what sparked the fireworks at the conference.
During a segment about the 2023 budget, Ted Dabrowski told Mary Ann Ahern of NBC 5 that the 2023 budget does nothing to fix Illinois or reverse the flow of residents out of the state, yet lawmakers still decided to give themselves a near-$3,000 pay increase.
We’ve said it for a long time. Illinois’ one-year budgets mean nothing in a state that continues to be inhospitable to far too many people. Forget them. Illinois needs a multiyear restructuring plan to keep residents from fleeing.
Because Chicago’s strident and self-conscious “anti-racism” seems to lead nowhere good, it’s more crucial than ever to know and embrace real black power. Meaning: black agency, black possibility, and black accomplishment
Ted and Mark dissect the $46.5 billion budget for 2023 recently passed by lawmakers that spends more taxpayer revenue than any other state budget in Illinois history.
Illinois is just about smack average on mortality. But it paid a high cost to achieve that mediocrity in terms of damage to its economy and education.
Illinois lawmakers want to be sure you know about the “tax relief” you’re getting this election year. So, in the waning hours of session they inserted into their budget bill a requirement that private-sector retailers usie signs and notations on receipts to tell consumers of how blessed they are. Maybe a little creativity with those signs is in order.
A new study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research added up the costs to lives and livelihoods from Covid itself, along with the costs due to the lockdowns, mandates and school closings, and found Illinois was the nation’s 5th-worst performer.
Illinoisans now pay the nation’s 7th-highest combined state and local taxes, Illinois’ effective tax rate for 2022 is now 12.9 percent. That’s a significant jump compared to pre-pandemic 2019 when Illinois’ effective tax rate was 11.2 percent – the nation’s 13th-highest rate.
The carjacking bill fails to correct misguided policy implemented by legislators. In 2015 they effectively removed the right of county prosecutors to charge juvenile carjackers as adults. That was wrong because it is a particularly serious and terrifying crime with a lasting impact on victims.
The more you look at the state’s buyout program, the more problems crop up. The savings are small and non-transparent. More borrowing means more gambling with taxpayer dollars. And, worst of all, the buyout lets lawmakers claim they’ve enacted real reform.
Wirepoints’ Matt Rosenberg joined WXAN radio host Will Stephens to talk about the “mass “incarceration” myth that’s promoted in Illinois and across the nation. He points out that less than 0.56 percent of the adult population are in jail, and even when those on parole or probation are added the total share is still less than 2 percent.
POBs are bad for a slew of reasons, but the biggest one is that they help shove Illinois’ decades-long overpromised pension mess entirely on to taxpayers. Pensioners get protected and taxpayers get left holding the bag.
A flagrant case of forced speech, in violation of the First Amendment. Somebody needs to sue the daylights out of U of I.
The most important question for Jackson is not the definition of “woman,” which has gotten all the press. It’s about her views on natural rights, on which she says she has none. If she won’t answer, her supporters should.
Ted Dabrowski joined Tom Miller on the WJPF Morning Newswatch to talk about the 2021 county-to-county population loss in Illinois. Except for a few special counties downstate and in a few collars, Illinois is losing people everywhere.
Among other problems with Cook, she was one of the leaders in the character assassination that led to the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank firing Harald Uhlig. She said “free speech should have its limits” and accused Uhlig of using it to “spread hatred and violate the dignity of other people.”
Mark is joined by Wirepoints’ newest writer Matt Rosenberg to break down how crime in Illinois and Chicago is a problem from the streets to the courts and even the legislature.
DEI stands for diversity, equity and inclusion. At universities, however, it means bloat. A 
The way we evaluate and elect judges in Cook County is rotten. And that’s because their aggregate records in handling criminal cases are hidden from public view, by law. That has got to change.
For Pritzker to put the Q label on Senate Republicans is, itself, conspiracy theory at its worst. So now we have the PRB with so few members that 
Matt Rosenberg joined the Shaun Thompson Show this week to talk about his latest article: Mass incarceration: a weaponized myth. Matt told Shaun we need to challenge the claim that there is a racial disparity in incarceration. There are no quotas in outcomes and we should be looking at individuals and the decision that people make, not judging based on color.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joined WXAN radio host Will Stephens to talk about the many reasons why Illinois is losing the battle for people and their wealth.
What will Chicago’s problems mean for it in the long run? We can’t answer that comprehensively, but let‘s look closely at some recent positive headlines. Yes, there are some, though the good news is qualified and may depend on your own circumstances.
Lawmakers want to pour subsidies into Illinois’ border cities. Their plan is to take tax revenues from everyone across the state to artificially prop up cities where the mess is most visible.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski and Jeanne Ives joined Scott Slocum’s morning show on WJOL. They discussed why Illinois is bleeding people and how the state’s border communities are suffering thanks to the state’s uncompetitive policies.
Pritzker and his party last week last week made astonishingly dishonest claims about the reason why Republican lawmakers voted against new legislation to partially fix Illinois’ insolvent unemployment trust fund. Pritzker also made claims that, if true, would make Comptroller Susana Mendoza a liar.
Mark and Ted dive into three of the biggest problems Illinois is facing: a wonky unemployment insurance fund, people leaving the state and the rising cost of energy around the nation and the world.
The Census has released the county-level data for 2021 and it exposes just how widespread Illinois’ population problems are. Eighty-one of the state’s 102 counties lost people in 2021.
It’s no wonder that the public has had enough. For the working class, energy costs have become catastrophic. Let’s hope Illinois reexamines CEJA and the rest of its energy policy and starts emphasizing low cost. Renewable energy sources have their place, but delusional goals for them do not.
Ted talked with Dan Proft and Amy Jacobson this week about the coming cost to taxpayers as hundreds of school districts renegotiate contracts with their teachers this year, the overwhelming power those unions have, and how Chicago’s South Cook communities have been destroyed.
Keep an eye on Chicago’s South Loop and Near South Side. According to fresh police data released this week, overall District 1 crime this year is up by 30 percent versus the pre-Covid year of 2019. 
“The hypocrisy of Illinois politicians isn’t even surprising anymore,” said a trade industry opponent of the bill. “Not only are these politicians exempting themselves from this bill, it’s yet another effort to support their union benefactors and punish non-union labor. They don’t even care they’re hurting small businesses, family manufacturers, and consumers in the process.”
One of the greatest sins of our government’s approach to the COVID pandemic has been its oppressive treatment of children. Now, it turns out, the CDC overestimated the already-limited danger to children. The agency officially cut the number of nationwide child COVID deaths by 24 percent last week.
The Munoz case is a timely reminder to take stock of the character of Chicago’s elected officials, and of our city’s current plight. Chicago is gripped by deadly violence, failing public schools, staggering public employee pension debt, and rising taxes. Yet at every stage of this great city’s modern-day devolution, too many aldermen and city workers have turned out to be crooks.
Count on Illinois property tax bills – already the nation’s second highest – to jump as teacher salaries rise. You can bet teachers unions will soon extract as much as they can from local school officials in contract negotiations, all in the name of inflation. Contracts in more than 240 Illinois school districts are set to expire in 2022.
Do Democratic politicians praising Ukranian courage know their base would flee rather than fight like Ukranians? Or are they of the same mind as their base and just roaring like cowardly lions?
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot this week touted a fractional drop in murders and a modest reduction in shooting incidents. She wants you to think the city’s getting a handle on crime. But new statistics show that overall major crimes this year are up 34 percent YTD, up by almost 2,500 additional crimes over last year.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joined Jeff Daly of WZUS Decatur to talk about Illinois lawmakers’ unwillingness to take emergency powers away from the governor, the dangers of one-party rule, the impact of higher gas prices and the massive debts of the state’s unemployment insurance fund.
We’re far behind on fixing two of the biggest things that plague blacks in Chicago. Streets that aren’t safe and schools that don’t work. Today let’s look at school choice within that context.
There’s violent crime aplenty in Chicago. But punishment? Not so much. Too many Chicagoans are dead due in part to a broken criminal justice system.
Every penny of remaining federal aid should go to repay the state’s unemployment fund debt. Otherwise, the burden will increasingly fall on employers, making Illinois even less competitive when it comes to creating jobs.
The nursing shortage and the challenges for safety net hospitals have many causes, but one is the artificial barrier to coming to Illinois thanks to its licensing requirements. Illinois has no excuse for not being part of the interstate compact that would end that barrier.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joined Tom Miller on the WJPF Morning Newswatch to talk about inflation and its impact on gas prices in Illinois. Ted pointed out that gas prices are far, far lower in states like Missouri thanks to a combination of transportation costs, higher taxes, and more regulation in Illinois.
We are very proud to announce that Matt Rosenberg has joined Wirepoints as senior editor. His research and columns will now appear regularly here, starting today.
How could Mayor Lightfoot back blanketing the pavement with cops in Chicago’s killing fields when she thinks they can’t even protect themselves guarding a Columbus statue in an Italian Pride parade?
Chicago native Matt Rosenberg officially joins the Wirepoints team as Senior Editor. Ted, Mark and Matt discuss what’s next for Wirepoints’ coverage and some of the issues Matt will be tackling in his new role.
The problem is next year. For the fiscal year starting this July, COGFA projects a 4.5% decrease in revenue. That means an overall reduction in revenues of $2.171 billion. That falloff includes the one-time impact of money from the federal government under the American Rescue plan.
Ted was on with Dan Proft and Amy Jacobson this week discussing how politicians want everyone to ignore their COVID mistakes of the past two years, the legal corruption infecting CPS and Illinois, and how educators across the state continue to double-dip by getting both a salary and a pension.
Gov. JB Pritzker dropped the statewide school mask mandate, Chicago Public Schools finally did the same and COVID infections continue to plummet. And since the most discussed lawsuit on school masking was ruled moot, you might therefore think the school mask saga is over. But it’s not.
Illinois school district superintendents keep finding ways to retire with generous Illinois pensions while continuing to get salaries to boot. Another example we’ve come across is a husband and wife tag team that recently shared a superintendent role 50/50.
Steven Malanga, George M. Yeager Fellow at the Manhattan Institute and City Journal’s senior editor, joins Ted and Mark to discuss how Illinois compares to other states when it comes to issues like crime, outmigration and pension debt.
On Monday it was time to defend the American Rescue Plan in Congress against growing criticism that it was unaffordable, fueled inflation and vastly exceeded losses states sustained because of the pandemic. Pritzker was among the witnesses from various states and localities called on by Democrats on the House Committee on Oversight and Reform to praise the rescue plan. That required a new tune, so Pritzker and Congressman Raja Krishna did a singalong.
What Pritzker didn’t mention was the last year was the first year that it became mandatory for Illinois high school seniors to complete the FAFSA, which is the Free Application for Federal Financial Aid. No diploma for graduating Illinois seniors if they don’t complete the application.
Ted Dabrowski went on The Bruce St. James Show WLS 890 AM to discuss Mike Madigan’s indictment: “This has huge implications for all of Illinois government. Think about every deal that’s been done in Illinois. Most things of any consequence went through Madigan and his machine.”
If there’s anything about COVID on which the should hope for consensus, it’s that a comprehensive review of how government manages pandemics is essential, from the federal government down through state and local governments. The first major test of whether Illinois will do its part in that is now at hand.
Ted was on with Dan Proft and Amy Jacobson this week discussing Illinois’ return to “normalcy” as the pandemic finally fades. Ted talked about the worrying precedent Gov. Pritzker has set by running the state with executive orders for so long and how absurd it is for CPS to keep students masked through August because of a bargaining agreement with the CTU.
More than 54,000 Chicago charter school students are being forced to wear masks when they should have the choice not to. The CTU’s overreach and the district’s appeasement has created a situation where the union is exercising power over children it doesn’t even teach.
Mark and Ted interview Illinois Attorney General candidate Tom DeVore on his court victory against Gov. Pritzker’s school mask mandate, his campaign and more.
Returns on taxpayers’ money be dammed. Inflation be dammed. Energy independence be dammed. Enrichment of Russia be dammed. Only environmental social justice counts.
The following is adapted from Ted Dabrowski’s keynote speech delivered at the Grant Township Republican Club’s Lincoln Day Dinner on February 12, 2022.
Illinois officials and healthcare professionals have been playing fast and loose with the definition of the “unvaxxed” in hospitals. Their intent may be more jabs in arms, but their approach is deceptive. It’s a sure way to lose the public’s trust.
Real Clear co-founder Tom Bevan didn’t mince words Wednesday and he got it exactly right: “Everyone gets their freedom back, but we’re going to keep punishing kids. This is the most ass-backwards, inexcusably evil policy in history.”
The Better Government Association slapped a “mostly false” label on a recent claim by Illinois state Rep. Blaine Wilhour (R-Beecher City) the ineffectiveness of school masks. But it’s the BGA’s fact-check that is riddled with distortions and falsehoods. It is irresponsible misinformation.
Don’t judge lawyers by the alleged sins of their clients. David Boies put it this way: “Once you start a culture that attacks lawyers for taking on clients that you believe are wrong, there’s a real danger that culture will deprive clients you think are right of good representation.”
Mark and Ted discuss rising inflation, why it’s happening and where we are headed in Illinois.
“The law is what the court says it is, not what the Governor says it is.” Wirepoints’ Mark Glennon shared his insight on Governor Pritzker’s failed mask mandate appeal with Bruce St. James of WLS 890.
An Illinois appellate court late Thursday night dismissed an appeal made by the Pritzker Admin, thereby leaving in place the Feb. 4 court order that effectively ended Illinois’ statewide school mask mandate as of that date. It will be interesting to see if Gov. JB Pritzker persists with the claim that his statewide school mandate remained the law despite the lower court’s ruling.
Illinois’ nation-worst pension crisis is all but forgotten as COVID, crime and schools continue to take center stage. But that doesn’t mean that the state’s retirement problems have gone away or are any less severe. Pension costs alone are set to devour nearly 24 percent of Illinois’ $45.4 billion budget in 2023.
Unless and until the court’s order is reversed on appeal, it is the law. If confusion about this matter expands, blame Pritzker’s wanton denial of the law.
On Tuesday the Joint Committee of Administrative Rules (JCAR) rejected Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s attempt to re-issue his emergency school mask mandate. As of right now, there is no statewide school mask mandate in Illinois.
Ted Dabrowski was on with Jeff Berkowitz on the Illinois Channel last week. They discussed a variety of topics, from crime to COVID to K-12 education to pensions.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski went on on AM560 Chicago’s Morning Answer to talk about the continued protests by parents and students across the state against Illinois’ school mask mandates.
Parents and students of both Glenbrook High Schools North and South protested today against Illinois’ school mask mandate, one of many such demonstrations happening across the state.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joined Scott Busboom and Doug Wolfe’s morning show on WZUS in Decatur. They went through the details of the Gov. Pritzker’s proposed 2023 budget, his supposed “tax relief” proposals and the reasons for Illinois’ recent credit upgrades.
It’s just one of 13 states, soon to be nine, to still impose a statewide mandate requiring all students to wear masks in school. Gov. Pritzker has set no deadline for ending Illinois’ school mask requirements and refuses to even discuss the specific metrics it would take for him to drop his mandate.
What can Pritzker be thinking? Both the science and the politics of school mask mandates already left Pritzker behind. The question now is “why?” Why on earth would he leave the school mask mandate in place?
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski went on on AM560 Chicago’s Morning Answer to discuss Gov. Pritzker’s school mask mandates. With 37 states imposing no mandate, the govs of NJ, CT, OR and DE announcing they’ll end their mandates and even outlets like the Atlantic, NPR and Time Magazine turning against masks, Pritzker’s position has become both politically and scientifically untenable.
Ted was on The Chicago Way with John Kass and Jeff Carlin this week discussing the state of the Illinois governor’s race. For too long, Ted told John Kass, the opposition in Illinois has surrendered its principles for a “seat at the table” to make bad deals less bad. But this year is the perfect time for a candidate to distinguish himself if he actually talks about Illinois’ problems and provides concrete solutions.
A comparison of mask-mandated Illinois to its mandate-less neighbors during Omicron shows that Illinois’ restrictions have failed to provide any benefit so far.
The Tribune’s editorial offers false hope to teachers and the Chicagoans they serve. Yes, the CTU’s militant bosses should be replaced, but nobody should expect new leadership to make much difference. 
Fresh off of Gov. Pritzker’s State of the State/2023 budget address, Mark and Ted dissect the governor’s claims of a balanced budget.
During a segment on Gov. Pritzker’s 2023 budget, Ted Dabrowski told Mary Ann Ahern of NBC 5 that Illinoisans should be disappointed with Pritzker’s tax relief ideas. Residents need real reforms, not one-year reelection gimmicks.
How far we’ve sunk from Bill Clinton’s days when even Democrats would mock such things as silly. And a related contribution to excellence in journalism from Pritzker’s press secretary.
Mark Glennon went on The Bruce St. James Show WLS 890 AM to give his pre-analysis of the governor’s 2023 budget speech.
Ted went on FOX32 ahead of Pritzker’s budget speech to let Illinoisans know that the tax breaks the governor is offering aren’t even close to real reform.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski was on on AM560 Chicago’s Morning Answer to discuss Gov. Pritzker’s failed promises of tax relief and how the governor is now offering temporary relief because it’s an election year.
Being an election year, it’s time for flashy showbiz, giveaways to voters and triumphal celebration.
It’s time for public officials like Gov. JB Pritzker to check the political winds on their COVID policies. They may cling to their version of science, but the politics have shifted against them, even within their own party. They are rapidly being left behind, putting Illinois and a few other states in outlier status on COVID policy, particularly for children.
Mark and Ted sit down with Tom Bevan, founder of popular news and information aggregator RealClear to discuss changes in the media landscape, media censorship and more.
Illinois State Senator Robert Martwick (D-Chicago) is pushing ahead with legislation that could increase Chicago’s police pension obligations by another $3 billion. It’s a repeat of a similar bill Martwick championed for the Chicago firefighters’ pension, which was signed into law by Gov. JB Prtizker in April.
How can the vaxxed make up so few of the state’s ICU patients – those most at risk of dying – and yet end up comprising so many of the total COVID deaths? Unfortunately, the state doesn’t publicly provide the data we need to find out how that can be.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski went on on AM560 Chicago’s Morning Answer to discuss the actual voter suppression happening in Illinois: off-cycle local elections.
The process for selecting projects funded through Illinois’ celebrated “Rebuild Illinois” spending plan is sad enough, but much worse when you consider how the program is being paid for: The poor and working class are hit hardest.
Mark and Ted sit down with Robert Enlow of EdChoice to discuss the importance of parental empowerment and school choice.
Illinois voters aren’t often to be congratulated, but they made the right call by killing the “Fair Tax.” Had they authorized a progressive tax increase, the state would now be facing a still worsening competitive disadvantage. Phew.
Wirepoints’ Mark Glennon was on WTTW’s Chicago Tonight this week discussing the failure of the Democrats’ national “Voting Rights” bills.
Latinos are statistically the most entrepreneurial demographic in America. U
More vile than their dishonesty is their call for censorship — “for the sake of Public Education and the future of democracy,” the letter says.
Ted Dabrowski was on with Leland Vittert of NewsNation discussing the power the Chicago Teachers Union has over the lives of the city’s children.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joined hosts Dan Proft and Amy Jacobson on AM560 Chicago’s Morning Answer to discuss the widening list of candidates for governor.
Illinois is out of step with a majority of the nation when it comes to masking. It’s just 
Let’s hope employers are more ethical than the American Medical Association and its president.
It’s an obvious solution that Illinois could have implemented long ago. Equally obvious is that it hasn’t happened because the Pritzker Administration, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and the General Assembly simply don’t care enough about Foxx’s malfeasance.
The union should be called out for its militancy, but Illinois lawmakers are most at fault. Their laws and actions have made Illinois an outlier when it comes to giving public-sector unions power over ordinary residents.
Mark and Ted speak with political analyst Steve Cortes about the recent dramatic shift to the right by Latino voters across the country.
Omicron has wiped out the rationale for vaccine passports in Chicago and Cook County. The fact that the vaccinated can spread the virus like the unvaxxed now renders the entire mandate worthless. Officials have no excuse not to get rid of it.
The only solution for a system so broken lies not with Lightfoot, Sharkey or anybody else in Chicago. It lies with their great enabler, state government, which has been relentlessly derelict in its central duty to educate our children.
Mark and Ted kick off 2022 by talking about the ongoing effects of Illinois and the nation’s misguided and often counterproductive COVID policies.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joined host Dan Proft and Amy Jacobson on AM560 Chicago’s Morning Answer to discuss the latest news on COVID. It seems the CDC and others are finally admitting to the COVID facts that Wirepoints has talked about for two years now.
Ted Dabrowski joined WXAN to talk about the latest walkout by the Chicago Teachers Union. It’s important for all Illinoisans to understand what’s going on in Chicago for two reasons. One, the CTU serves as a powerful example to their local teachers unions. And two, all Illinoisans eventually end up paying for the crises in Chicago.
Ted was on FOX32 (Chicago) with Mike Flannery talking about the latest Chicago Teachers Union walkout. Ted explained the CTU keeps getting its way because Illinois and Chicago politicians would rather appease unions instead of stand up to them.
Agree to the facts as Pritzker sees them or you cannot hold office.
There’s more to the story than the press release that media focused on, as usual.
The CTU is proving once again to be one of the nation’s most militant unions. It’s decided once again to keep teachers out of the classroom. Lightfoot shouldn’t be surprised by the latest challenge to her leadership. She’s appeased the union every time they’ve had a conflict over contracts, shut classrooms and COVID mitigations.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joined Dan Proft on Chicago’s Morning Answer to discuss how Illinois and Chicago leaders have bastardized the prosecution process, bastardized policing and more.
If protecting hospital capacity was a real goal, then one of the big questions today for the governor has to be this one: Why has he let the supply of ICU beds collapse by nearly 1,000 beds since July of 2020?
A little tale about how breezily Illinois state government imposes unfunded mandates on municipalities.
Ted and Mark continue their discussion on what to expect for Illinois in 2022 including more COVID measures and mandates, parents pushing back on school board meetings and the surge of crime in Chicago.
“I have bailed on Illinois. I’m now a resident of a great state out West. God knows I tried to be a loyal Illinoisan! They say that in the marketplace people vote with their pocketbooks. In Illinois, people are voting with their feet.”
Gov. JB Pritzker and Illinois Department of Public Health Director Ngoze Ezike held a press conference Monday. It was almost overwhelmingly devoted to vaccines and masks, to the exclusion of all else. The subject of treatments was almost entirely ignored. None of the reporters’ questions addressed treatments.
Ted and Mark discuss some of the biggest issues facing Illinois in 2022. In Part 1 they cover Gov. Pritzker, the upcoming elections, and the new union power ballot initiative.
Had I known 45 years ago that someday I’d be introducing my son to Jim Lovell, Christmas Eve that year would have been still more magical than it was.
In light of the differences in expert opinion, parents should be entirely free from condescending insults and coercion if they choose not to vaccinate their children or to wait until better evidence is in. But politicians, including President Joe Biden and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, have resorted to hectoring and steamrolling parents into vaccinating their kids, pretending that the science in favor of vaccinating kids is certain.
Mark and Ted sit down with Frank McCormick, a history teacher from Waukegan that is fighting back against a wave of CRT and other progressive politics that are starting to infiltrate public school curriculums in Illinois and around the country.
Wirepoints’ Ted Dabrowski was Mary Ann Ahern’s guest on NBC5 Chicago discussing reports that Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin could run for Illinois Governor, potentially with the backing of Illinois billionaire Ken Griffin.
Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza was the lead signatory on a letter sent by officials of seven other states asking the federal government to reinstate the interest waiver. It’s effectively a request for more bailout money.
Wirepoints’ Mark Glennon was Mary Ann Ahern’s guest on NBC5 Chicago discussing the New York Times report that Gov. JB Pritzker’s name is in play as a potential presidential candidate.
Many of us in Illinois may be snickering, but it’s entirely sensible in Democratic circles that “talk is abundant – at least in private,” about Gov. JB Pritzker as a candidate for President of the United States in 2024. That’s what the New York Times reported on Sunday. Check off the boxes on who could win the Democratic primaries for president and you have to put Pritzker at or near the top of the list.
For the latest example of how school administrators are increasingly exerting their power over families, check out what Glenview officials are demanding of some students. Admins are effectively forbidding any interactions between students not just during the week of remote school, during winter break too.
Mark and Ted sit down with Author Matt Rosenberg to discuss his new book What Next, Chicago? Notes of a Pissed-Off Native Son.
Youth homicides in Chicago have continued their torrid pace. Since December 2020, another 128 youth have perished by violence, resulting in a total of 228 homicides since the pandemic started. By comparison, 12 Chicagoans aged 20 and under have died from COVID over the entire period.
Illinoisans are back to owing $130 billion in state pension debts. On the face of it, that’s good. Now here’s the bad news.
Join Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski and Founder Mark Glennon on the latest episode of Wirepoints’ Podcast: The Dialogue. They discuss new research showing how masks and other COVID policies are hurting children, the latest on breakthrough cases and deaths and the emergence of the Omicron variant.
Left-leaning states, particularly Illinois, have long been trying to strong-arm the financial sector into enforcing their social justice agenda. Now, more conservative states are responding by using the same tool. Nobody will end up winning. Blame those who started it.
A welcome trend is unfolding in higher education. Wealthy donors are using their clout to fight the cancel mobs and woke radicals now dominating most colleges and universities. The path now seems clear for organized groups of those donors to form everywhere. An umbrella organization for them has now been formed called the 
Rarely is anything so popular yet so neglected by politicians as school choice for K-12 education. It should be a top issue in next year’s elections. Politicians will start listening if voters start demanding what they say they want. 
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joined Scott Busboom and Doug Wolfe’s morning show on WZUS in Decatur. They discussed Illinois’ record $530 billion in pension shortfalls, why lawmakers won’t lower taxes and what the big obstacle is.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joined Dan Proft and Amy Jacobson on Chicago’s Morning Answer. Illinois continues to lose population across all demographics due to multiple reasons. Illinois is the least-tax friendly state, growing crime, massive pension debt, hostility toward families and more.
“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan Press On! has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.” -Calvin Coolidge
So, how long until Kiplinger joins Pritzker’s ever-growing list of politically inconvenient “carnival barkers?”
Join Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski, Founder Mark Glennon and Policy Analyst John Klingner on the latest episode of Wirepoints’ Podcast: The Dialogue. They discuss the pain Illinoisans are in for as this state reaches a new level of pension debt: $530 billion.
The world has turned upside down.
There’s a lesson here not only about Illinois pensions but about how easily the press will let Gov. JB Pritzker thumb his nose at crisis.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joined Dan Proft and Amy Jacobson on Chicago’s Morning Answer. They went over the infrastructure bill and how Illinois is a government centric state. 
Join Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski and Founder Mark Glennon along with guest Paul Vallas on the tenth episode of Wirepoints Podcast: The Dialogue. Paul provides insight on Illinois’ path to school choice.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker may be celebrating Illinois’ projected lower deficits, but they owe little to what he’s done since taking office. If the budget numbers look any better it’s overwhelmingly due to the $182 billion in federal stimulus/COVID funds that have flooded into Illinois government coffers and private sector accounts.
Chicago and other cities around the Great Lakes are envied by most of the world for their abundance of fresh water. It took some doing, therefore, for Chicago to let high water bills accumulate to the point that tens of thousands of homeowners are drowning in debt for their waters bills.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joined Scott Slocum on WJOL in Joliet. They discussed how politicians have selected to boost the electric vehicle industry in Illinois at the expense of other manufacturers. 
You can’t help but wonder what Illinois’ other manufacturing companies think of the EV industry’s subsidies while they continue to suffer under the state’s punishing taxes, over-regulation and corrupt governance.
We’re certainly not about to tell parents whether they should vaccinate their kids against COVID. It’s for many of the same reasons that we think the State of Illinois also should not.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joined Dan Proft and Amy Jacobson on Chicago’s Morning Answer. They discussed how the Virginia elections were decided by talking about issues and not personalities.
Join Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski and Founder Mark Glennon along with guest Kristen McQueary on the ninth episode of Wirepoints Podcast: The Dialogue. Kristen provides insight on the future of media in Illinois.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joins Tom Miller on WJPF in Carbondale. They went over pension reform, the veto session, inflation, and much more. 
Friday was the last straw.
The sting of serious competition solves most problems, and so it may be for higher education. A project I have been following for some months was publicly announced today — a new institution dedicated to the classic principles for which universities are supposed to stand. It is to be called the University of Austin, and it is historic.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joined Terry Martin on The Illinois Channel to talk about how the Illinois political class ignores fiscal reality. 
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joined The Morning Rush with Robert and Cat on 92.9 FM Cities in Bloomington. They went over how there are 1,000 less ICU hospital beds available in Illinois when compared to its peak in July 2020 and discussed COVID numbers.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joined Dan Proft and Amy Jacobson on Chicago’s Morning Answer. They discussed the COVID situation in Illinois and the wrap up of the veto session in Springfield. 
Illinois lawmakers are at it again, picking winners and losers, this time with a series of subsidies and tax breaks for electric vehicle and parts manufacturers. All at taxpayer expense.
Dishonesty, despotism and undisguised ignorance were on full display in an move to assure compliance with vaccine and other COVID mandates. 
Join Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski and Founder Mark Glennon on the eighth episode of Wirepoints Podcast. Mark and Ted attempt to simplify and make sense of the situation involving some 650 local pensions across Illinois.
This past week, 91 of the state’s 181 COVID deaths were breakthroughs, meaning cases where the victim was fully vaccinated.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joined The Bruce St. James Show on WLS. They went over how the graduation rates at Chicago Public Schools are disconnected from the percentage of students at CPS who can read or do math at grade level. 
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joined Scott Busboom and Doug Wolfe’s morning show on WZUS in Decatur. They went over what’s going on with the veto session in the general assembly, inflation and redistricting. 
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joined Scott Slocum’s morning show on WJOL. They went over the hidden tax being placed on all Americans in the form of inflation. 
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joined Dan Proft and Amy Jacobson on Chicago’s Morning Answer. They discussed the governor’s proposed changes to the Illinois Health Care Conscience Act.
A more bizarre and destructive mismatch of economic circumstances and policy direction would be hard to imagine.
Join Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski and Founder Mark Glennon on the seventh episode of Wirepoints Podcast: The Dialogue. Do you think COVID deaths among the vaccinated are rare? You need to listen here. 
Contrary to what is widely said by the media and many health authorities, the number of “breakthroughs” — COVID deaths in fully vaccinated people — is large, and that number as a percentage of total COVID deaths has been growing.
Talk about voter suppression. “Music to Pelosi’s ears,” said Politico.
Join Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski and Founder Mark Glennon along with guest Devin Jones on the sixth episode of Wirepoints Podcast: The Dialogue. Devin Jones provides conservative insight on the challenges faced by inner city Chicagoans. 
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski appeared on The Bruce St. James Show on WLS to talk mask mandates in schools. As of today, there are 33 states that don’t require students to wear masks in school and eight states have banned mask mandates outright.
The strongest argument for COVID vaccine mandates has been that it’s not only about protecting one’s self. By getting vaccinated, the thinking has been, we reduce the chances of spreading infection to others and contribute to the broader battle against the virus. But new evidence is strong that vaccinations do not reduce transmission by those who have been vaccinated.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joins Scott Slocum on WJOL in Joliet. They discussed how the influx of federal cash to Cook County and Chicago inflated their respective budgets by 40% and 60%. They also discussed how the increase in federal cash could help bolster Pritzker and Lightfoot’s re-election odds.
This is about something that intrinsically bothers some of us but not others – about conformity and following orders. And it’s personal. 
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joins Dan Proft and Amy Jacobson on Chicago’s. Morning Answer. They discussed rising crime in Chicago, onerous mask mandates and COVID mitigations.
Two weeks ago the City of Chicago dug its fiscal hole deeper with an 
Join Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski, Founder Mark Glennon and Analyst John Klingner on the fifth episode of Wirepoints podcast: The Dialogue. They discuss how bad COVID data is leading to bad decisions.
It’s worth going though some particular reasons why this misconduct by federal law enforcement is is so appalling, and to remind parents why they should not be deterred.
With limited consumable COVID data in Illinois, it’s hard for parents to know what’s really going on here. The good news is that serious illness or death hasn’t increased for Illinois kids. Hospitalizations and deaths have remained within the same range they’ve been in since before Delta.
“It’s time to say no to the mob, no to the cancellations. And it’s time to be forthright about your true opinions. This is not a partisan issue. Anyone who is interested in the pursuit of truth and in promoting a healthy and functioning society has a stake in this debate. Speaking out now may seem risky. But the cost of remaining silent is far steeper.”
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joins Dan Proft and Amy Jacobson on Chicago’s Morning Answer. They discussed Chicago Public Schools, school choice and Ken Griffin’s speech at the Economic Club of Chicago.
CPS has shrunk by another 14,000 students this school year, a 4 percent-plus drop from last year’s 341,000 enrollment. While it might be convenient to blame COVID for the drop, that would be a mistake. Families are increasingly leaving a school district that doesn’t work for them.
Join Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski and Founder Mark Glennon on the fourth episode of Wirepoints podcast: The Dialogue. They discuss how many people in power believe in the concept of unlimited federal money.
A panel ironically titled “Tough times for local journalism” became a shameful episode for Eric Zorn, DePaul University and journalism.
“We don’t have to balance our checkbook. We are like the banker in Monopoly. We create the money…” This, from a politician in charge of the national budget.
Yet another falsehood from the Pritzker Administration and the media.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joined Dan Proft and Amy Jacobson on Chicago’s Morning Answer. They talked about Lightfoot and Pritzker’s plan to bring business from Texas to Illinois, the Obama presidential library and state spending on new programs, and property taxes.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joins Scott Slocum’s morning show on WJOL in Joliet. They discussed Gov. Pritzker and Mayor Lightfoot’s plan to attract business from Texas by pitching Illinois’ social policies.
Absurd: Former Chicago Tribune columnist Eric Zorn should be disinvited from an upcoming panel at DePaul University, according to two students writing in the school’s paper. In addition, according to column, the Society for Professional Journalists, which is one of the panel sponsors, “advised students to attend the in-person panel and publicly voice their concerns to Zorn himself.” I think we know what that means.
Why worry about charges of hypocrisy? What are you gonna do about it? With Pritzker having signed off on newly rigged election maps, in violation of his campaign promise, it’s not like they need to worry about getting voted out. 
President Biden and his allies in Congress are having a rough time winning support for a historic, gigantic, new spending plan, but they knew who to call for help. On Friday, Biden joined Gov. JB Pritzker on a Zoom call to with local reporters to make the case for the pending federal legislation.
Join Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski and Founder Mark Glennon on the third episode of Wirepoints podcast: The Dialogue. They discuss how Critical Race Theory now drives everything in Chicago are government.
If you haven’t been downtown lately, here are a few pictures and the perspective of one restaurant owner. Chicago cannot survive with this few people downtown.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski appeared on WTTW’s Chicago Tonight to breakdown Chicago’s record $16.7 billion budget and what it means for Chicagoans. The federal money in the budget is set to leave Chicago with a bigger fiscal cliff when it dries up.
Just two weeks ago 
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.
Everything in Cook County government will be judged on “equity,” we learned in Cook County’s Racial Equity Week. Everything. 
Health authorities should have been issuing this message constantly: “Immediately after being exposed or you have COVID symptoms, get tested and ask if an antibody treatment is right for you.” But they didn’t. They still aren’t. At least not in Illinois and most of the nation.
The bipartisan JCAR committee voted 10-0 to request more answers from the ISBE regarding its authority to enforce Pritzker’s mask mandate for schools. JCAR wants to see ISBE’s enforcement policies actually included in the administrative rules and in harmony with Illinois law, rather than just based on “guidance” from the governor’s mandates and executive orders.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joins Dan Proft and Amy Jacobson on Chicago’s Morning Answer. They discussed the JCAR vote, Chicago’s attempt to lure Texas businesses to the city and why Illinois civic leaders support the status quo.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joined the Scott Slocum show on WJOL in Joliet. They discussed the brain drain from Illinois and how college students are leaving the state because of higher tuition, spurred by skyrocketing pension costs and administrative bloat. 
It’s about mistakes and confusion piled high, complete with charges of political favoritism, built on the foundation of a licensing scheme that seems to have been defective from the start.
Join Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski and Founder Mark Glennon on the very first episode of Wirepoints podcast: The Dialogue. They discuss COVID’s impact on state government.
She didn’t just vote for it, she sponsored it: a resolution expressly calling for K-12 schools to teach Critical Race Theory, which the public overwhelmingly despises and which has sparked heated protests at school boards across the nation. Unlike other attempts to hide what CRT is about, Lightfoot’s resolution is shameless.
Illinois has lost more full-time equivalent students over the last decade than any other state in the country. Tuition has doubled in the past 15 years, pushing it to the 4th-highest in the country. And administrative bloat has siphoned money from university classrooms.
A new research report looked at pensions from both teacher and taxpayer perspectives, and they distinguished how retirement systems are expected to perform for teachers who are in them for the short, medium and long term. Illinois ranked last.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joined Dan Proft and Amy Jacobson on Chicago’s Morning Answer. They discussed Illinois’ outmigration crisis, education and how politicians are taking advantage of distractions to run up the bill on average Illinoisans. 
Why is everybody fed up with so much of the establishment press? It’s worse at the national level but Illinois, too, has big problems. Sit back a few minutes and consider some recent examples.
It’s scandalous enough that the Chicago’s pension for police officers is just 22% funded, but it’s far worse if even half the claims made in a new report about the fund are true.
Joliet residents already pay an effective property tax rate of 2.5 percent. With two school districts where teacher contracts are expiring soon, they are next in line for higher costs if they don’t engage.
“When I tell people about the program, they kind of look at me like I’m crazy.” Enough said.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joins Scott Slocum on his morning show on WJOL. They discussed skyrocketing pensions and how it’s tied into Illinoisans paying some of the highest property taxes in the nation. 
With just a few short questions in his written concurrence with last week’s ruling, Justice Bret Kavanaugh showed why eviction bans at any level are so crassly dictatorial and irrational. It’s Governor JB Pritzker who must answer.
For now, at least, maybe the mantra for politicians and policy makers should be “Take the job. And if you can’t find a good job nearby, move.”
The State of Illinois has released its Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the 2020 fiscal year that ended June 30, 2020.The state lost another $6.7 billion for the year, with its net position falling to negative $194 billion.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joins Greg Bishop on WMAY. They discussed vaccine and mask mandates along with how the government has not been truthful with COVID data.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joins Bruce St. James and his co-host Judy Pilak on WLS radio. They discussed mask mandates and COVID data while having a civil debate on the merits of additional mitigations. 
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joined Dan Proft and Amy Jacobson on Chicago’s Morning Answer. They discussed how Illinois is losing students to other states, the CDC squelching of its study on masks, and more. 
Illinoisans pay some of the nation’s highest taxes so a “retired” former Barrington superintendent can earn a combined $532,000 a year working in Texas.
As property taxes soar, the percentage going to pensions increases even faster.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joins Dan Proft and Amy Jacobson on Chicago’s Morning Answer. They discussed COVID numbers, ISBE’s compliance audit, pensions and Chicago Public Schools reopening.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joins the Scott Slocum Morning Show on WJOL. They talked mask mandates, manipulated COVID numbers and how Illinois could follow Arizona’s example on pension reform. 
It’s long past time that the obvious questions be put to Governor JB Pritzker and other public officials who claim to be so dedicated to fighting COVID: Why aren’t you demanding that the border be enforced? Are infected immigrants being sent to Illinois? How many of Illinois’ COVID infections have been in illegal immigrants. Do you even know? Do you care?
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joins the Scott Robbins Morning Show to talk about how the Pritzker Administration and Dr. Ezike are’t telling the whole truth about the COVID numbers. 
Eighty-seven of Illinois’ 102 counties lost population between 2010 and 2020, according to the latest data release from the Census Bureau. All shrinking counties were in downstate Illinois, while Cook County and the collar counties grew, albeit slowly.
For those interested in really digging into the debate on the science of whether masks are effective, two pieces are probably the best start.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joins Dan Proft and Amy Jacobson on Chicago’s Morning Answer. They discussed crime in Chicago, mask mandate legal battles and the calls for a return to normalcy.
One of the biggest obstacles to pursuing pension reform in Illinois is the falsehood that any reforms would ultimately be overturned at the federal level. But that’s just not true. Arizona’s recent effort is one of the best examples of successful reform.
Rarely is there a matter on which data and expert opinion are so consistent – over time, across the world and regardless of political opinion: Two committed parents are the key to ending both intergenerational poverty and the consequences thereof, particularly crime.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker has issued 
The spike in illegal border crossings from Mexico has reached truly extraordinary proportions, likely to make 2021 the worst year ever with 1.8 million illegal crossings projected at the current pace.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joins Dan Proft and Jeanne Ives on Chicago’s Morning Answer. They discussed parents forming groups to fight back against school districts pushing CRT and masks, the failed management of Chicago, and what’s going on with Rod Blagojevich. 
The Obama Center, if built, will stand as a fittingly hideous monument to the hubris of the out-of-touch, self-absorbed Obama crowd and to the misuse of government power, subsidized by Illinois and federal taxpayers, disfiguring one of the finest urban parks on the planet. Same for for his obscene party.
As if on cue, many COVID vaccine proponents from President Biden on down to Illinois columnists have resorted over the past week to insults to encourage vaccination. That won’t work. They would do their side and everybody else a favor if they focused, instead, on a bedrock principle of medical ethics and law in America and most of the world — one that’s been largely ignored: informed consent.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joins Dan Proft and Amy Jacobson on Chicago’s Morning Answer to talk all things Illinois. They discuss the pay raises for CPD, the $5 billion hole in Illinois’ unemployment trust fund and Lightfoot on a possible new mask mandate.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joins Tom Miller on WJPF’s Morning Show to compare Illinois’ education system and funding to Florida. The Sunshine State has 785 less school districts than Illinois but serves 800,000 more students.
How many fibs can Gov. JB Pritzker pack in a ten-minute interview? Count ’em.
The matter is playing out in a broad debate about antitrust policy and what to do about tech companies, which may significantly change what America’s economy looks like. If not resolved in Washington, the issues may be thrust on states.
On Monday, School District U-46, the state’s second largest district, barred parents from entering a board meeting to talk about the district’s mask policy unless they wore a face-mask. Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joins Dan Proft and Amy Jacobson on Chicago’s Morning Answer to discuss this along with Pritzker’s re-election bid and pensions.
The new General Assembly learned quickly. Why bother even with excuses when voters don’t care?
How is it that Illinois spends nearly 70 percent more per student than Florida does – a state with an even larger concentration of minority students than Illinois – and yet the Sunshine state largely performs the same or better?
Should this column be serious or facetious? I honestly can’t decide, for reasons to be made clear.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joins Dan Proft and Amy Jacobson on Chicago’s Morning Answer to talk about federal money, mask mandates and all things related to policy in Illinois. 
Take Casten up on his claim that he believes content of character, not race, should be the test. What’s the content of his character?
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joins Greg Bishop on WMAY to go over the upgrade in Illinois’ credit rating.
At first glance, the results look quite good for a year made so challenging by the pandemic. But look further.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joined WJPF’s Tom Miller to talk about the $138 billion in federal money that helped Illinois improve its credit rating and a new Wirepoints report on education spending in the state.
A Wirepoints analysis of new U.S. Census education finance data finds that Illinois education spending per student grew 70 percent between 2007 and 2019, the most in the nation. That’s nearly two times more than the national average over the same period.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joined Scott Slocum on his morning show to talk about Illinois’ credit rating and the annual gas tax increase. 
The people who teach our kids apparently expect you to forget that equations have two halves.
$3.75 per gallon. That’s the price of regular gas today just a few blocks away from Wirepoints’ office in Evanston, Illinois. The price reflects this year’s annual tax hike that took place on July 1st, part of the annual increase legislators cemented into law in 2019 when they 
Wirepoints founder Mark Glennon joined Greg Bishop on WMAY. They talked about the cost and future of the contact tracing programs in Illinois.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joins Dan Proft and Amy Jacobson on Chicago’s Morning Answer. They talk about the new COVID delta variant and new Wirepoints analysis showing that Illinois has received $132 billion in federal money dispensed under the guise of pandemic relief.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joins John Anthony on Black and Right. They discuss new analysis from Wirepoints on local police pensions, collective bargaining reform, and Illinois’ new election law. 
Remember in May 2020 when Gov. JB Pritzker announced funding for an “army” of contact tracers to combat COVID-19? Well, armies of government workers aren’t easily disbanded, and we better hope our real army functions better than our contact tracers.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joins Scott Slocum on WJOL to discuss why Illinoisans should care about the massive green new deal bill being debated in the legislature. 
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joins Dan Proft and Amy Jacobson on Chicago’s Morning Answer. They discussed why people are fleeing the city, unmasking children in schools and more.
The latest on the expanding school of thought in journalism that openly says facts and objectivity don’t matter. 
“The state affiliates that I support would be appalled at the stance that NEA Management is taking.”
The Illinois Senate 
Ted Dabrowski appears on Newsmax to talk about Wirepoints research of IRS data showing people are fleeing blue states for red states. 
Will the exodus from big cities that occurred during the pandemic persist or reverse? The final verdict isn’t in, but here are some new insights.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joins Dan Proft and Amy Jacobson on Chicago’s Morning Answer. They talk about the special session of the Illinois General Assembly, the major omnibus energy spending bill, the Pritzker Administration’s misleading comments on out-migration and all things Illinois.
Pritzker and the Illinois Attorney General have some explaining to do.
Give them credit at least for being open about what they intend: No diversity of opinion about race. Wokeness shall be mandatory under pending directives for University of Illinois faculty.
The Wall St
We’ve gotten the prologue to the high-fives and backslapping we’ll be hearing from Illinois lawmakers and much of the media over the new state budget.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joins Dan Proft and Amy Jacobson on Chicago’s Morning Answer to talk about the end of the legislative session, lockdown policies, and all things Illinois.
Illinoisans should feel insulted that their elected officials figure the public is too stupid to see through this.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joins Scott Slocum on WJOL to talk about the recent census data. 
New Illinois homebuyers, particularly at the low-cost end, may end up realizing that they bought into a surge created artificially and temporarily by the Fed. When the Fed’s largess ends, Illinois’ traditional problems and their impact on home prices may return with a vengeance.
Even in Illinois politics, Gov. JB Pritzker’s betrayal and dishonesty on fair maps is as shameless and destructive as anything before.
Politico reported this morning that administration officials say Illinois is “on the cusp of being in the best shape it’s been in 30 years…,” largely due to direct federal support for the state, cities and individuals. 
They died to protect a democratic republic, essential elements of which are likewise simple – democratic rule bounded by certain unalienable rights.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joins Terry Martin on the Illinois Channel to talk all things about the proposed constitutional amendment and what it means for Illinoisans.
Governor Pritzker is seeking a $1 billion dollar tax hike on Illinois businesses. Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joins Scott Slocum on WJOL to discuss this and the union power grab constitutional amendment. Sen. Karina Villa (D-West Chicago) is the chief Senate sponsor. Young people are “vulnerable to persecution and misinformation,” she said, as reported by Capitol News Illinois. Sen. Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro), in a Senate hearing, questioned how objective schools could be in
Spending is up, student outcomes are down, property taxes are up, home values are down. Illinois’ education system is upside down. – Wirepoints on AM 560 Chicago’s Morning Answer
March 22, 2023
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Ted joined Dan and Amy to talk about the recent uncovered video featuring Chicago mayoral candidate Brandon Johnson. Johnson discussed the tactics he used to undermine achievement as a way of “rebelling against the structure.” They also discuss the results of Wirepoints’ new Report Cards on Illinois’ 20 largest school districts.
Important, reasonable questions are left unanswered, so the state will probably go on borrowing with no concern about them.
Hinsdale District 86 hires a “Director of Instructional Equity for $115,000 per year. Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joins Dan Proft and Amy Jacobson to talk about this and all things Illinois. 
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski appeared on Fox 32 Chicago to talk about the expanded child tax credit subsidy and why it is detrimental to the workforce which is currently yearning for workers. 
Hinsdale’s District 86 captures the politicization what’s happening in many districts across the state. There, the district has filled a new equity position with a $115,000 hire – the Director of Instructional Equity.
Let me get this straight. You want me to invest in a business that thumbs its nose at half its addressable market, do I have that right?
Solving Illinois’ pension crisis is one thing, getting Illinois politicians to tell the truth about the scope of the problem is another. Senate President Don Harmon’s comments on pensions contain the typical errors and half-truths about the crisis and the solutions this state needs. 
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joins Dan Proft and Amy Jacobson on Chicago’s Morning Answer to give a weekly update on all things Illinois. They talk about the “Bridge Phase”, pensions, and what legislation is moving through Springfield. 
How about we expand preferences in hiring and promotion to base them on any characteristic whatsoever that might disadvantage somebody, regardless of whether the characteristic is inherited or self-inflicted? That’s in a bill moving full steam ahead in Springfield and it’s a doozy. It’s House Bill 3914, the Positive Action Act. It already passed the Illinois House and is moving in the Senate.
It took decades for a consensus to form about the folly of federal policy at the outset of the Great Depression. This time, the reverse blunder and its consequences won’t take long to figure out. They are in plain view already.
Rising costs for Illinois’ 650 local pension funds are wreaking havoc on city budgets, taxpayer wallets and the retirement security of hundreds of thousands of police, firefighter and municipal workers and retirees.
Obstructing reporters who cover the government is just about the last thing we need is, so it’s no surprise that the Illinois General Assembly does just that.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joins Tom Miller on WJPF to talk census data, redistricting, the recent legislative session and what it means for Southern Illinois.
Wirepoints Founder Mark Glennon joins the Annie Frey Show to talk census data and population loss. 
The new 2020 U.S. Census numbers were released this week and any way you cut them, they were miserable for Illinois. The state’s population dropped 18,000 over the last decade and Illinois’ influence in national politics fell with the loss of another Congressional seat.
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joins Dan Proft and Amy Jacobson on Chicago’s Morning Answer. They discuss how Illinois’ population losses led to the loss of another seat in Congress, how the state is working to strip local control from school districts, and why Illinois mayors are rebelling against Pritzker’s latest cash grab.
Local officials have little control over their budgets because of the many unfunded mandates imposed by the state. Now they face another threat from the state. Pritzker is angling to swipe $150 million from state tax revenue that has been traditionally shared with municipalities.
It’s all there. All of what idealogues are confident they have now achieved in converting education into political dogma, complete with laughter about how they have captured the education establishment.
Dare we suggest that the Illinois Department of Public Health should read more left-leaning media? Maybe so because it’s indeed that side of the press that has been most aggressively documenting the case against one of the department’s central messages.
Wheaton city officials are desperate to do something about the city’s uncontrollable police and firefighter pension costs. Their solution to the problem? Borrow more money.
It’s particularly nice to see bipartisan support form around legislation that will help Illinois small businesses.
In one segment with just two sentences, they managed to include three of the most dishonest and regularly repeated claims Illinois politicians often make.
“In the first place God made idiots. This was for practice. Then he made school boards.” -Mark Twain
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joins Dan Proft and Amy Jacobson on Chicago’s Morning Answer. They discussed the new law Pritzker signed giving CTU more strike powers, vaccines, and child tax credits. 
Nobody should be surprised. Hypocrisy and slogans rule in the kingdom of virtue signalers.
There’s only a few hours left to vote today and maybe you need to be convinced that it’s worth it. Here are five reasons you should head to the polls, especially to vote on your local school board candidates.
Ask yourself this: What’s different now? If it’s sensible to target seniors now why wasn’t that true earlier?
Illinois native Nicole Neily, founder and president of Speech First, is doing what’s long overdue to bring freedom of expression back to higher education: She’s suing — and winning. Now she has expanded her efforts challenge the identity-based dogma being taught in K-12 schools.
High taxes get all the blame for chasing people out of Illinois, but former Illinoisan Andy Baker’s list of reasons for leaving was much longer: “The taxes, the government, the lack of freedom, the cost of living, the horrible winters.”
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joins Scott Slocum on WJOL. They discuss the need to reopen the state and the lack of action to address the Governor’s COVID powers. 
Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski joins Dan Proft and John Anthony on Chicago’s Morning Answer. They discuss local elections and why groups of neighbors should team up to defend against cancel culture and strong-armed government mandates. 
Ted Dabrowski joins Scott Slocum on WJOL’s morning show. The federal stimulus money changes the agenda in Springfield. Politicians no longer have to consider tax hikes or reforms for at least a couple of years. 
Two separate 50-state comparisons of state and local tax burdens released this week confirm Illinoisans pay some of the nation’s highest taxes. 
Seemed like a good idea initially, but now the site has degenerated into the same chaotic mess as the rest of the vaccination rollout, this time running under the banner of “equity.”
Socialism is real. Orwell’s warnings are real. Neither should be cancelled. Put them both up for scrutiny with a monument to him.
Speaker Welch wants Illinois to have a second go at a progressive tax scheme, this time committing the tax hike proceeds to pensions….which means it would help pay for Mike Madigan’s pension benefit of $149,000 a year.
The number of people fleeing the Chicago metro area increased by 14% compared to the previous three years, but the number of people moving in dropped by more than double that – 29%.
At $63 billion and counting, the racket is shattering records and making Charles Ponzi look like a bush-leaguer.
For those of you bored by accounting, bear with me, this will be in plain English It may sound like green eye shade stuff, but it’s key to how Illinois, Chicago and many of its municipalities became financial basket cases. And the problem may get worse.
Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs and a group of 29 other state financial officials recently sent letters to six of the nation’s largest private sector money managers in a transparently partisan attempt to bully them out of supporting Republicans.
When was the last time you heard of a media outlet firing one of its top people for political bias – left-leaning bias, that is?
If you want to trust the experts on COVID, you better pick which ones carefully.
An Eli Steele short documentary on Fox News covers Illinois’ recently adopted, controversial “culturally responsible” teaching standards. Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski was interviewed as part of the film.
Despair, as best as we can tell, is the emotion growing most rapidly in Illinois, and yesterday, February 17, was particularly dispiriting. We hope, however, that conviction, courage and resiliency remain dominant and prevail against a government so estranged from so many of its own people.
Please, Treasurer Frerichs, don’t claim doubled balances in college savings accounts are because of changes you championed. 
The fight goes on to move it to an appropriate place. If it is built in Jackson Park, it will stand as a fittingly hideous monument to hubris and misuse of government power, subsidized by Illinois and federal taxpayers, disfiguring one of the finest urban parks on the planet.
The core goal of education has always been to teach students how to think, not what to think. That may be about to change in Illinois. A sweeping, controversial rule is pending for Illinois K-12 teachers that should prompt everyone, of all political stripes, to fear for how students may soon be taught.
Comparing January of this year to January of last year, each of the “big three” revenue sources are up.
The latest assault on diversity of opinion, which should be central to higher education, is by students themselves on Jason D. Hill of DePaul University in Chicago. He dared to say that trans women — those who were previously male — ought not be competing in sports against biological women.
Those who are most frustrated probably are those who most need the shot – the old and sick who have little if any computer skills and no family help.