State of Illinois

The war on plastic bags heats up

Eric Bussell — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 15:48:00 GMT

Strict regulations being proposed for plastic bag manufacturers who want to sell plastic bags in Illinois.

Center for Public Integrity--Illinois

pattsi petrie — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 18:33:00 GMT

Ranking of state of Illlinois integrity.

Another Budget Fail?

Eric Bussell — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 19:01:00 GMT

Governor Quinn offered few concrete problems on how to solve our state's problems.

Are Two States Better Than One?

Matt Wavering — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:00:00 GMT

This month I am straying from the typical commercial real estate discussion and am jumping on the hot topic of politics. However, I'm not going to talk county politics, nor am I going to bring up the GOP nomination. I'm talking about Chicago versus the rest of Illinois. It has been brought up in the past, once in 1925 and again recently in late 2011 (Google it); can Illinois and Chicago part ways as two seperate states? I'm not here to argue in either direction, only to make a few observations and lay out a few facts. I'll let the readers of HI decide whether this is a bone-headed idea or a revolutionary thought.

While researching the idea, I found many instances where seperating Cook County from the rest of Illinois has been discussed. In most cases the idea has been shrugged off and forgotten...but why? Rather than follow in the same thought process, I decided to think of this idea objectively. Could Illinois be divided into two states, how would it be done, and what would be the benefits? Below is my proposal.

The biggest flaw that I have found in any past idea to seperate Chicago from Illinois is the fact that rarely does one county or one city stand on its own. Chicago or Cook County as a seperate state deos not make any sense. I look at it from the standpoint of a trade area or MSA (metropolitan statistical area). The U.S. Census has made it easy by defining the "Chicagoloand MSA" as 11 counties around Chicago including the city, the adjacent suburbs, and the "collar counties". For those of you doing your research, you will notice that the Census includes a few counties in Wisconsin and in Indiana as part of the MSA. In this scenario, I am only considering counties within Illinois. In addition to the Chicago MSA, I added Winnebago County (the Rockford MSA) to the mix, as Rockford is not too far off from being a northwestern suburb. That creates a new "state" consisting of 12 counties that I will call "The Commonwealth of Chicago".

I have a great image that I would love to share showing the new state, but unfortunately I cannot get the Image Manager to work today. Regardless, below are the stats on the two new states:

Commonwealth of Chicago

MSAs: Chicago & Rockford

Counties (12): Lake, Cook, Will, Kankakee, McHenry, Kane, Kendall, Grundy, Boone, Winnebago, DeKalb, La Salle.

Population: 8,246,489 (2010 Census)

State of Illinois

MSAs: Moline/Rock Island, Peoria, Bloomington-Normal, Champaign-Urbana, Danville, Decatur, Springfield, East St Louis.

Counties: the remaining 90 counties

Population: 4,584,143 (2010 Census)

What I find most intriguing about the resulting states are where they would fit in with the rest of the country in regards to population. Based on 2010 Census data, the Commonwealth of Chicago would be the #11 most populous state in the union, and the "new" State of Illinois would be the 25th most populous. Add the fact that Illinois would still have three Fortune 100 companies calling it home, and it becomes even more intriguing...#37 State Farm Insurance Co. (Bloomington), #39 Archer Daniels Midland (Decatur), #58 Caterpiller (Peoria). Could Illinois operate on its own financialy, without the support of the twelve northeastern counties?

The benefits to the split are pretty obvious:

Illinois could seperate itself politically, socially, and financially from the ruling class in Chicago.
The capital city of Springfield would lie much closer to the median population center.
Chicago could get its own capital (likely in downtown Chicago) which would much more closely represent the will of the people.
Illinois rids itself of prison-bound governors and entrenched politicians like Mike Madigan.
Illinois could finally address the current financial issues facing our state, and Chicago could continue to spend itself into bankruptcy.

Being that this is a Champaign County blog, my list of benefits are mostly what I see as benefits to us downstaters. However, I'm sure there are many additional benefits to the people of the Commonweath that I am missing. For example, no longer would suburbanites have to claim us pitchfork carrying, gun-toting, rednecks as part of their state brotheren. Their politicians could commute 50 minutes from their suburban homes to the downtown capital, instead of jet-setting to Springfield to attend sessions. And, the boring agriculture topics would no longer be a burden to Commonwealth lawmakers.

I can already hear what many readers are thinking (its not that simple; it can't be done; it would never work; no states have split since the Civil War). Yeah, I know it isn't simple...but you give me a plan to save our state that is more simplistic, and I'll give you a pat on the back and all the credit in the world. Illinois is facing a business climate that is forcing businesses out of the state at an alarming rate, trends are showing a mass exodus out of Illinois (it's not like the weather is going to keep people here), and the true unemployment rate is likely around 15% with few signs of improvement. Are two states better than one? From my perspective, it can't be much worse.

Correcting the Record

Chapin Rose — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 21:00:00 GMT

I would appreciate your help setting the record straight.

Indiana first "Rust Belt" state to adopt right-to-work

Eric Bussell — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:49:00 GMT

Gov. Mitch Daniels signed the right-to-work bill without ceremony, making Indiana the 23rd state in the nation with such a law. Indiana also is the first state in the "Rust Belt" of the Midwest and Northeast to adopt the measure.

Happy New Year: Wish List for 2012

Eric Bussell — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 22:31:00 GMT

With some help from the good folks the Illinois Policy Institute, here are some great ideas for 2012...

Teachers for a Day Constitutionally Owed Pensions?

Andrew Dunne — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 08:48:00 GMT

Teach for a day, get a pension. State is broke, lose pension. Madigan works to restore pension.

Sticky Note Campaign

Eric Bussell — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 01:35:00 GMT

People have come up with a creative and efficient way for people who are busy and non-confrontational to make their voice heard: a sticky note campaign.

Politics 101 - Elections Have Consequences

Eric Bussell — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 15:58:00 GMT

This pretty much sums up politics in general. We are paying the price for electing people who want to preserve the status quo and I have the stats to prove it.

Corporate Tax Break Bidding War Heats Up

Illinois Updates — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 16:00:00 GMT

Democrats are trying give CME Group a $75-$100M tax break. Republicans are holding it up.

Teach for a Day - Get a Teacher's Pension

Andrew Dunne — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 20:18:00 GMT

Teacher's Union Lobbyists substitute taught for one day and now have access to a the teacher's defined benefit program.

Illinois Business Climate Outshines Our Neighbors

Eric Bussell — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 13:00:00 GMT

Our potential of our state outshines neighboring states. No doubt about it!

End Pension Corruption Now

John Bambenek — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 06:45:00 GMT

Recently, a scandal has come to light about the misuse of taxpayer dollars involving some of Chicago’s political bosses and their allies running local unions. In the 1990’s Chicago officials and their allies in the legislature cooked up a little bonanza for their political backers who ran the slew of unions that staffed city departments. If you took a leave from your city job, say, pushing a broom at city hall, after three or four years, to become an official with Local 10 of the International Brotherhood of Broom Pushers, you could still rack up credit towards your city pension. Not only that, but when you retired, your pension would be tied, not to your $15 per hour broom pusher salary, but your union boss salary, which often topped out over $200,000 per year. So the people of Chicago ended up paying some union bosses nearly $160,000 a year in pension for a few years of actual city work where they earned sometimes less than $20,000 a year—all courtesy of the taxpayers. Within t ...

illiNOis JOBS.

Eric Bussell — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 17:00:00 GMT

For a second month in a row, Illinois holds the unenviable position of leading the nation in negative jobs data. This month, the bad news is in the number of unemployed Illinoisans. Data released Sept. 15 by the Bureau Labor of Statistics showed that more people became unemployed last month in Illinois than in any other state in the nation. More than 25,000 additional people were counted as unemployed, bringing the grand total of unemployed Illinoisans to 652,977.

Shameless Pension Abuse in IL

Illinois Updates — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 14:00:00 GMT

Another reason why IL needs more pension reform.

Cellini Trial

Wendy Edwards — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 10:46:00 GMT

The coverage of the Bill Cellini trial has been surprisingly interesting.

Quinn: State Had No Choice On Tax Hikes

Illinois Updates — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 19:00:00 GMT

The Governor said he had no choice but to raise taxes to deal with the government’s deficit.

ILINOIS FOOTBALL RANKINGS AND OTHER SUCH RATINGS

Alan Nudo — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 15:07:00 GMT

Rankings are an important measure to determine progress and growth for any entity. Where does Illinois want to be financially and economically? How do we get there?

Tax hike not enough to pull Illinois out of debt

Illinois Updates — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 19:00:00 GMT

SPRINGFIELD — Adam Andrzejewski says he’s not surprised by a new report showing that Illinois remains in a fiscal black hole despite a 67-percent personal income tax increase approved by the Legislature earlier this year.

Shell Bills in Illinois - A Shell Game

Andrew Dunne — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 20:38:00 GMT

If any section, sentence, clause or part of this act, is for any reason held to be unconstitutional, such decision shall not affect the ~~the~~ remaining portions of this act.

China calls on U.S. to create better environment for business cooperation

Illinois Updates — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 16:00:00 GMT

China calls on U.S. to create better environment for business cooperation while meeting with Governor Quinn.

UofI takes "things too far" with anti-Chief restrictions on Marching Illini

Illinois Updates — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 23:00:00 GMT

UofI takes "things too far" with anti-Chief restrictions on Marching Illini

The “temporary” tax hike that has got to go…NOW!

Alan Nudo — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 17:21:00 GMT

Since its passage in January, Senate Bill 2505 has created the largest increase in job loss in the 50 states.

Blago top legislative ally a favorite to face Tim Johnson

Illinois Updates — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 21:00:00 GMT

Top legislative ally of Blago likely Tim Johnson opponent.

Workers Comp changes not enough to keep one IL company from moving to IN

Illinois Updates — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 17:00:00 GMT

An Illinois company will soon be a an Indiana company due to the high cost of workers unemployment insurance in Illinois.

Jobs Matter

Eric Bussell — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 16:00:00 GMT

I've done some analysis. If the State of IL performed as well as surrounding states, we would benefit from at least $11B in additional payroll from an additional 388,000 jobs. Jobs definitely matter.

WI Election Analysis - Before/After

Eric Bussell — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 16:00:00 GMT

WI recall election analysis.

Will Champaign County cash in on wind energy?

Illinois Updates — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 15:00:00 GMT

Pat Quinn signs the long-awaited bill that allows Champaign County to create its own energy district.

Illinois proves an amendment doesn't guarantee balanced budget

Illinois Updates — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 16:30:00 GMT

Illinois has a balanced budget provision, sort of.

Congressional redistricting

pattsi petrie — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 00:19:00 GMT

Panel discussion how to improve the redistricting process at the congressional level, but applicable to counties.

College Illinois! needs to go back to school

Eric Bussell — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 17:03:00 GMT

Recently, State Auditor Bill Holland’s office revealed that College Illinois! is running a deficit of $300 million—the most substantial financial shortfall of any prepaid tuition plan in the nation.

Education Reform Emphasizes Accountability

Eric Bussell — Mon, 16 May 2011 16:44:00 GMT

Senate Bill 7 will no longer allow teacher seniority to be the deciding factor when considering layoffs. Performance evaluations will also carry more influence with regard to granting teacher tenure. It has passed both house and senate and now awaits Governor's approval.

Fat Kids Tax

Eric Bussell — Sun, 15 May 2011 17:57:00 GMT

On Tuesday in committee, Sen. Cultra suggested that parents with obese children have their $2,000 standard tax deduction withheld while arguing against taxing soda, juice, and energy drinks. This has generated some national attention.

Illinois Pension Mess

Eric Bussell — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 17:31:00 GMT

Is real pension reform on the horizon?

Construction Project at Lincoln's Challenge

Wendy Edwards — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 04:54:00 GMT

Via the SJ-R, the state is planning a $34 million construction project at Lincoln's Challenge Academy

Redistricting Maps

DaveM — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 19:40:00 GMT

Crazy redistricting maps from Swing State Project increase IL's D-rep in House. What will happen?

Furlough days shortchange Chicago pensions - Candidates short on change

Money Tree — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 19:00:00 GMT

Chicago workers were not required to make pension contributions for the furlough days even though they continued to accrue benefits.

State-Level Bankruptcy, No; Muni Bankruptcy Reform, Yes - Repost

Craig Walker — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 00:21:00 GMT

State level bankruptcy is an issue currently being discussed in Congress and could have a profound impact on our national economy. This blog is an interesting piece written by attorney/analyst Adam Stein that offers workable solutions.

What goes up, must come down - Unless you're in Illinois

Whose Wage is it Anyway? — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 08:25:00 GMT

An opinion by former Attorney General Roland Burris states that Illinois' Prevailing Wage Act doesn't allow wages on public works projects to go down for any reason - but they can go up.

Illinois Lawmaker Proposes Pension Limits

Money Tree — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 09:00:00 GMT

Rep. Jack Franks (D - Woodstock, IL) proposed a bill (House Bill 146) last week which would impose pension limits on all members of the state-run systems, not just for workers hired after January 1, 2011. The state General Assembly already established pension limits for new hires last year, limiting the maximum salary for benefits to $106,800, with a percentage increase tied to inflation. In addition, they increased the retirement age from 60 to 67. But these reforms only apply to new workers. The five pension systems in the state are estimated to have an unfunded liability of over $83 billion.

Synopsis of HB 146 as introduced:

Amends the General Assembly, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund, State Employees, State Universities, Downstate Teachers, and Judges Articles of the Illinois Pension Code. Caps the highest salary for annuity purposes, final rate of earnings, final average compensation, and final average salary for current members, participants, and participating employees of the affected systems at $106,800, but authorizes that amount to be annually increased by the lesser of 3% or one-half of the annual percentage increase in the consumer price index-u for the 12 months ending with the September preceding each November 1. Requires employee contributions to also be based on these capped amounts. Effective July 1, 2011.

IL Business Climate - Getting Worse or Better?

Eric Bussell — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 17:00:00 GMT

This week Gov. Christie (NJ) was running ads in our state recruiting IL businesses. Gov. Quinn credited NJ for rising to #48 on the business climate index, where IL now ranks #36. Click here to listen to the Christie ad and Quinn's response. If Quinn appreciates the importance of the business climate index...

The West Wing vs. The Simpsons

Eric Bussell — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 17:00:00 GMT

The recent lame duck legislative session in Springfield reminded me of The West Wing episode The Lame Duck Congress from the show's second season. Hollywood seems to think that elected officials have honor and integrity while the reality in Springfield would suggest otherwise. These types of shenanigans are becoming less and less surprising while at least one neighboring governor is comparing what's going on in Springfield to an episode of The Simpsons. Should lame duck sessions be banned?

Indiana Governor: Illinois Tax Hike Good News For Indiana Business

Eric Bussell — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 02:15:00 GMT

Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels is laughing in our face. Would you be able to resist?

No Immediate Impact on Budget and Applicants

Money Tree — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 17:00:00 GMT

Police/Fire/Teachers continue to aggressively fight any pension reform, including legislation such as SB 3538 which doesn't require any concessions from existing workers. This legislation is helpful for the long-term budget scenario, but does little to nothing to help municipalities that are on the verge of bankruptcy because of their pension burden.

Taxpayer Bill of Rights

Eric Bussell — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 17:00:00 GMT

A Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) was previously unthinkable in democratic strongholds like Illinois. Today, it seems that Illinois is the only state where TABOR has democratic backing. During the most recent veto session Rep. Keith Farnham (D-Elgin) quietly introduced TABOR, and according to Rich Miller, has diverted union focus away from the House's education reform bill.

Whose Wage is it Anyway?

Whose Wage is it Anyway? — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 20:20:00 GMT

Minimum wage was a commonly raised topic during the last gubernatorial election cycle. In truth, Illinois has laws establishing several types of 'minimum wages'. Prevailing wage laws mandate wages paid to employees on public works projects. Illinois is one of 32 states with such prevailing wage laws. I'll be examining the issues with these requirements and questioning why wages aren't established by the free market.

Pension Fairness for Illinois Communities

Money Tree — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 19:05:00 GMT

Villages are hailing the passage of SB3538 that would help provide some desperately needed pension relief to Illinois communities.

Tobacco Deal a Ratings Positive For Illinois, According to Moody's

Craig Walker — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 22:59:00 GMT

The News Gazette slammed this deal in their Sunday editorial. They should have waited for all of the information.

4,352 Illinois Government Retirees Receiving Pensions Over $100,000

Money Tree — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 02:00:00 GMT

4,352 retired Illinois government retirees received over $100,000 in pension benefits for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2010, according to pension researcher,Bill Zettler. This is the 9th annual report by Zettler on the top 100 government pension recipients in Illinois.

Reclaim Illinois

The Observer — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 20:00:00 GMT

This is a interesting campaign by State of Illinois Employees for Reform and according to their Facebook page: "Reclaim Illinois encourages all citizens to support getting the PutBack Amendment on the ballot through the collection of petition signatures."

Chapin Rose Budget Plan

Chapin Rose — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 16:00:00 GMT

It seems that the citizens of Illinois are being presented with only two choices in terms of state budget policy: massive tax increases or draconian cuts that close schools and toss the developmentally disabled out on their ear. I reject, categorically, the notion that these are the only options available - to accept that premise ignores what we Americans are all about: using creativity, hard work, and good old fashioned Yankee ingenuity to solve the unsolvable!

Mark Kirk Highlight Reel

Hope and Change — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 19:43:00 GMT

A list of highlights featuring Senate candidate Mark Kirk.

IL Congressman Disputes Existence of Debt

Lush Rimbaugh — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 17:13:00 GMT

He's at it again. In what will almost certainly become a sound bite in House races across the nation, Phil Hare (IL-17) not only disputes the existence of debt and deficits, he insists that Democrats have to keep spending money we don’t have … for the children.

Voter Registration Deadline Quickly Approaching

Hope and Change — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 22:35:00 GMT

Voter registration for the November 2nd general election must be postmarked by October 5th.

Brady loses his lead and now trails Quinn

Middle of the Road — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 16:25:00 GMT

Governor Quinn now leads Brady 39% to 38% compared with Brady's 4-percentage point of a month ago, according to a Chicago Tribune poll.

Property Taxes

Money Tree — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 16:00:00 GMT

This article shows how Champaign County ranks nationwide in property taxes.

Republican Takeover in IL General Assembly

Eric Bussell — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 16:42:00 GMT

On September 16th the Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC), chaired by former GOP National Chairman Ed Gillespie, identified the Illinois House as one of seven state house chambers they are targeting to “flip” from Democrat to Republican. The RSLC is the only national organization dedicated to electing more Republicans to state legislatures throughout the country. Mr. Gillespie made the announcement in a conference call and said the RSLC’s decision to support our efforts came after reviewing polling data and discussions with people on the ground in Illinois.

Pay to Play

Middle of the Road — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 20:53:00 GMT

Pay to play politics on display by Governor Quinn.

Will someone please call the bomb squad

Money Tree — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 15:00:00 GMT

The accounting oversight board has released a preliminary report that suggests that states are massively understating their pension obligations. When you consider that these pensions are already underfunded and causing major challenges for state and local policy makers, what is going to happen when we realize that the pension funds are more underfunded that originally thought?

The Candidate's Pledge

Mayor McCollum — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 16:00:00 GMT

Like most citizens, I am appalled at the collective, fiscal ineptitude of the people we regularly elect to manage our affaires at all levels of government, but particularly at state and national. Illinois should be a prosperous state, but the General Assembly is chronically unable to meet its legitimate financial obligations. If the state were real estate, it would ...