Chicago had 44,840 licensed businesses operating in the city last year, fewer than any year in the past decade and 17% less than during 2015. The Magnificent Mile reported the largest drop, with active business licenses falling by over half.
The Chicago Teachers Union has shirked its own rules for years, causing members to sue the union to release a required annual audit. Members concerned about the union’s finances can opt out in August.
Students returned to their Chicago public schools on Aug. 18. The most recent test data available for Chicago students shows there’s a lot of room for improvement in the new school year.
When a Cook County business successfully appeals their property taxes, the county just shifts that burden to homeowners. This meant an extra $2 billion in residential property taxes instead of a lower property tax levy.
Tax increment financing districts divert public property tax dollars with little oversight, letting cities keep special taxing powers for decades, often misusing funds and shortchanging taxpayers.
Benefit programs in Illinois punish people for hard work. An estimated 710,000 Illinoisans have intentionally held themselves back financially to avoid losing government benefits.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a law adding $11.1 billion in new liabilities to Chicago’s fire and police pensions, already the worst-funded in the nation. These “sweeteners” hurt retirement security more than they help.
Chicago’s municipal pension is one of the worst-funded pension systems in the nation despite sky-high taxes dedicated to paying into it. Fat pensions such as former Ald. Walter Burnett’s show why.
Chicago Public Schools has 275 buildings that are too empty. On average, over 1-in-3 school desks is empty. The Chicago Teachers Union unrelentingly forces that big waste on CPS as administrators scramble to close a $734 million budget shortfall.
Students in Illinois are steadily returning to class across Illinois’ 866 school districts and 3,835 schools. The state’s public schools have a lot of room for improvement to prepare students for life beyond the classroom.
Illinois General Assembly members filed 31,011 pages of amendments to bills in the last 24 hours of the 2025 regular session. Truly understanding what they were deciding would require reading 22 pages per minute.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s extensive out-of-state travel raises questions about whether he’s prioritizing national exposure over challenges facing Illinois. During a 12-month stretch, he averaged one out-of-state trip per month.
The national Educational Choice for Children Act creates a federal tax-credit scholarship program for both public and private school students to help boost them academically. Here are seven reasons why Illinois should opt into the program.
With most property taxes going to local public schools, Illinois parents and taxpayers should know how well third- through eighth-grade students read and perform math at local public school districts compared to the cost per student.