6/14/2013 by: Ben VanMetre Senior Budget and Tax Policy Analyst Illinois Policy Institute The Illinois General Assembly is gearing up for a special session to discuss pensions next week because of lawmakers’ reform inaction during the recent spring session, which resulted in back-to-back credit rating downgrades. The debate during session will likely be over which of two plans […]
Illinois` tipping point: Highest unemployment rate in Midwest CHICAGO (FOX 32 News) – It may be the most painful symptom of the economic illness that has put Chicago at a tipping point: our unemployment rate is the highest in the Midwest. It’s almost two percentage points higher than the national average. More than 600,000 are looking for […]
Fitch Ratings, one of three major ratings agencies, today lowered Illinois’ credit rating after lawmakers failed to enact a solution to fix the state’s nearly $100 billion pension shortfall. The firm said it would drop the Illinois rating from “A” to “A-.” Illinois already has the lowest rating in the nation. Lower ratings mean paying higher […]
by Diane Benjamin Once again the Republican Party in Illinois shows ZERO leadership ability. The final session of the legislature was a circus created by Mike Madigan to pass whatever legislation he approved of, a lot of it created to benefit his law clients. See http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-madigan-medicaid-20120602,0,824489,full.story What did the Republicans do? Walk out? Refuse to […]
