The Chicago Public Schools board is set to vote on the district’s 2025-2026 budget on Aug. 28. It must close a $734 million budget hole, but the district’s finances are a mess.
Atlas Sweets is a newcomer to Chicago’s summer farmers market and fair scene. For founders Vlad and Ellery Rikhlyuk, the cotton candy enterprise is about more than bringing in a little extra cash – it’s the revival of a family dream once crushed by Soviet Communism.
Illinois continues to be one of the slowest growing economies in the nation, ranking 46th in post-pandemic job recovery and adding just 20,300 jobs in the past year. Unemployment remained above the national average.
Illinois companies announced 444 mass layoffs in July. LSC Communications Transport in Bolingbrook, also known as Enru Logistics, accounted for over one-third of job losses.
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.