Columns by Scott T. Holland
A coalition of community-based organizations – Boys & Girls Clubs, YMCAs, etc. – rallied at the Statehouse Tuesday to ask lawmakers to appropriate $50 million for afterschool and summer programs.
Pritzker’s fiscal 2025 capital proposal includes spending up to $1 billion over up to five years to replace Logan and Stateville in Crest Hill.
State Sen. Rachel Ventura, D-Joliet, filed a plan to let municipal and county governments impose fees – from 50 cents to $8 – on each loaded semitrailer leaving an intermodal facility.
On Thursday, Gov. JB Pritzker announced $827 million in state incentives he said secured Rivian’s decision to build a midsize SUV in Illinois instead of Georgia.
Typing the phrase “first responder” into the General Assembly website (ilga.gov) returns dozens of bills introduced during the current session.
Plans to consolidate Chicago and suburban public transportation agencies should aim higher.
It’s foolish to ignore the costs of programs like health coverage, for immigrants or anyone. But wise leaders will at least weigh the benefits.
The Bears’ stadium plan isn’t a solution, just a milestone in the ever-deepening reach into public pockets.
House Bill 4175 is a textbook example of legislation that can be used to advance multiple political narratives.
No single issue may have a more significant bearing on the way Pritzker leaves his mark on Illinois than how he manages public pensions.
Member schools elect IHSA directors who hire an executive director and staff. The layers insulating IHSA policies from lawmakers and taxpayers are thicker than in most other education matters, but if the right people get angry, that self-governance will earn intense scrutiny.
Efficiency requires balancing competing interests. Lawmaker support of HB 4431 represents shifting priorities.
Cleaning up government requires diluting the authority of those who might peddle their influence.
General Assembly Democrats drafted a bill that significantly reduces financial liability to modify the 2008 Biometric Information Privacy Act.
Government is about working for the public. Politics is about perception.