As the state’s pension liabilities mount, fewer taxpayers remain to pay the tab.… MORE
![Fewer Illinois taxpayers are on the hook for growing public sector pension liabilities](https://www.wjbc.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/389/2017/03/Illinois-Capitol2-630x420-125x125.jpg)
As the state’s pension liabilities mount, fewer taxpayers remain to pay the tab.… MORE
Another measure has been filed to create a taxpayer-funded program to ensure Illinois residents have their first two years of college tuition paid for.… MORE
Lawmakers have filed more bills to stop Illinois’ “revolving door” of lawmakers becoming lobbyists as soon as they leave office.… MORE
Illinois Republicans continued to criticize the Democratic majority for failing to produce a report with recommendations to reduce the state’s high property taxes, which have been pegged as the second-highest in the nation.… MORE
By Illinois Radio Network SPRINGFIELD – In the first 12 days of legal cannabis sales, state regulators report dispensaries sold nearly $20 million in cannabis products in nearly 500,000 transactions, but some have already raised concerns about how the tax revenue from recreational cannabis will be spent. From Jan. 1 to Jan. 12, the state reported…… MORE
A new report on inclusivity for students with nonconforming gender identities recommends Illinois’ public schools drop some traditional terms, such as “homecoming queen,” and offers tips to help teachers use more inclusive language. … MORE
The legislature still wants to do something about property taxes, which are really controlled at the local level.… MORE
Illinois State Police officials are accepting applications for the agency’s newest trooper class. … MORE
One percent of Illinois’ public schools started their 2019-2020 years after Labor Day. … MORE
Gov. J.B. Pritzker fired Illinois Department of Agriculture Director John Sullivan for failing to take action regarding a lobbyist’s 2012 email that mentioned a rape in Champaign and ghost payroll practices.… MORE
By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year. It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …
By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city. Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…
By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…
Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University. We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk. Going to work every day for some people means…