CTBA experts are available to provide insight, analysis, and data to the press on a wide range of public policy issues. In addition, CTBA disseminates new research and timely updates on policy developments to the media.
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As he heads into an election year, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is proposing big school spending and he’s painting a rosy picture of the school system’s financial outlook. But here are five things that taxpayers, school staff, and parents should know about the budget before it is set in stone:
Statistics show 87 of Kankakee County’s current and retired educators pulled in six figures last year, with slightly more than half of them pension recipients. In Kankakee School District 111, the county’s biggest district, 16 of the 30 current retired educators are making more than $100,000.
Illinois budget impasse came to an end nearly one year ago when lawmakers on July 6, 2017, approved a 12-month spending plan. They followed up just weeks ago with another budget approval to cover the year that starts Sunday. And while there is general agreement that having a budget is better
Illinois' African-American unemployment rate is higher than that of any other state in the nation.
And Illinois has been among the states with the highest black unemployment rate nearly every quarter since 2016.
"Nobody's been left behind more than African-American workers. And
From 2015 through 2017, 86 suburban school districts combined to pay more than $2.7 million in penalties to the Illinois Teachers' Retirement System to cover pension obligations created by raises above 6 percent given to school employees. That's according to a Daily Herald analysis of TRS
For the first time since 2015
Rauner’s proposal to reinstate the death penalty is linked to gun control legislation supported by most Democratic lawmakers, including extending the waiting period for assault weapons from 24 to 72 hours. Also under consideration in the compromise deal is a ban on bump stocks for assault
After many years of struggle, it looks like momentum for progressive tax reform in Illinois is picking up. Democratic gubernatorial candidate J.B. Pritzker, who’s mounting a strong campaign, has backed a constitutional amendment to allow a progressive income tax, under which rates would be
We've been hearing a lot of debate lately about the merits and demerits of a graduated, or "progressive," state income tax.
Illinois' constitution mandates a "non-graduated rate." Everybody from the poorest to the wealthiest currently sends 4.95 percent of their taxable personal income to
The House Revenue and Finance Committee voted late Wednesday afternoon to back a resolution sponsored by Speaker Michael Madigan calling for Illinois to switch away from its flat rate income tax and replace it with a “fair and progressive income tax.”
The resolution says the Legislature