The state has long had trouble deciding to pay its share of employee pension costs. In the 1990s, representatives of the pension system filed a complaint about it, and were told: the constitution guarantees that the state has to pay the pensions. It doesn't guarantee that it has to fund them. Read more
By David Bernstein and the Better Government Association
Four-star dining! Luxury cars! European getaways! An exclusive investigation reveals how Illinois politicians are living large on their campaigns' dime. Read more
No, the renovation of City Hall will not cost more than twice what the building originally cost. The current one was expensive enough that the state had to raise its debt limit—in order to replace a terrible building that cost just as much and lasted less than 30 years until it blew up. Read more
A report on our state's finances from the bureaucratic dream team of Richard Ravitch and Paul Volker is a lengthy yet concise description of its many problems, but doesn't provide many ideas for addressing them. Read more
Illinois has a rep as a high tax state, and by some measures it's true—a high nominal corporate income tax rate to go along with high property and sales taxes. Our income tax is low, but it's not low for everyone. Read more
After 17 tumultuous months running CPS, the current head announced his surprising—or not—departure yesterday. His replacement, a veteran of the Cleveland, Detroit, and New York public schools, has experience in the political tensions of a Midwestern big-city school district. Read more
