The U.S. Senate voted to approve the Marketplace Fairness Act,
a bill that would require online retailers to comply with sales tax
laws of states where they sell and ship goods. According to proponents of the measure, Internet shoppers are one step closer to losing the “unfair advantage” over consumers who choose to support local merchants. Progress Illinois takes a closer look at the bill and what it could mean for the Prairie State.
Illinois residents can now play lawmaker via a new virtual state budget calculator that allows residents to make decisions on and manipulate the Illinois General Fund, which makes up more than 50 percent of the budget.
Three bills in Congress received co-sponsorship from Illinois legislators this week ranging from a call to audit the Pentagon to an investigation of the environmental and health consequences of fracking. We take a closer look at the bills.
Gov. Pat Quinn
turned up the rhetoric on pension reform during today’s state budget address,
largely putting the blame on lawmakers for their failure to act.
If Illinois lawmakers do not address the state’s growing pension
crisis, essential investments in education, health care, and human
services will continue to be cut, according to a recent report (PDF) from the Fiscal Policy Center at Voices For Illinois Children.
“All
Illinois residents—including the youngest among us — are paying the price
for Illinois’ decades-long failure to make adequate contributions to
the state-funded pension plans,” the report, titled “Pension Funding
Crisis Worsens” (PDF) reads. “The General Assembly is well aware of the
harmful effects of rising pension costs on the rest of the budget.
However, progress toward a solution has stalled — making the situation
worse.”
The Chicago Public Schools management team breathed a sigh of relief yesterday as the Chicago Teachers Union House of Delegates voted
to suspend the CTU strike and let their membership consider a new
contract. But while teachers are expected to green light the deal, CPS
does not know how to pay for it.
Christopher Willis of the Associated Pressdoes some good digging into the state budget passed by the General Assembly last May, uncovering
a few state grants Democratic lawmakers slipped in for pet local
projects.
But the headline “Special grants helped state Democrats
pass budget” could be a bit misleading. As Willis points out, grants are
the exception in the state budget, and such pet spending has especially
decreased since the General Assembly impeached Rod Blagojevich as
governor in January 2009. Read more »
If Illinois lawmakers do not address the state’s growing pension
crisis, essential investments in education, health care, and human
services will continue to be cut, according to a recent 
Christopher Willis of the Associated Press 