Explainer Pension Crisis: Top Candidates Avoid Talk About Illinois’ Top Problem The crushing pension debt that is squeezing out resources to pay for other services grew through decades of bipartisan political expediency. The candidates for governor steer clear of the topic as options to fix the crisis without pain narrow. Apr 13, 2018 6:00 AM
Explainer Illinois Tax Reform Sideshow Long on Gimmicks, Short on Solutions Politicians peddle an array of fiscal tonics to cure what ails Illinois. Rarely do they consider the property, income and sales taxes as part of a system that requires a comprehensive overhaul. Feb 21, 2018 6:00 AM
Explainer How Much Would You Pay To Avoid Traffic? Illinois and 'Congestion Pricing' An approach that borrows from Uber’s fluctuating pricing strategy and a theme park express pass is being eyed by experts to finance long-overdue improvements on the Eisenhower and other roads. Dec 1, 2017 6:00 AM
Explainer Electric Cars And Fuel Sippers Spell Doom For State Gas Tax As roads and bridges in Illinois crumble, so too does the primary source of revenue the state relies on to fix them—the gas tax. Nov 15, 2017 6:00 AM
Explainer Rauner Administration Stirs Up Uncertainty By Scaling Back Social Service Funding Following two years of tumult amid Illinois’ historic budget standoff, state funding for human service programs has become so unreliable some providers are now questioning if it might be wiser to forgo it entirely. Oct 24, 2017 6:00 AM
Explainer Illinois Circling The Toilet Bowl? This Boom Town Begs To Differ Tiny Rochelle, 80 miles west of Chicago at the intersection of Interstates 88 and 39, is on an industrial roll, blissfully ignoring a common narrative among political and business elites of an economically maligned Illinois. Oct 11, 2017 6:00 AM
Explainer Illinois Is Poised To Dangle Business Incentives To Big Companies — But Is It Worth It? Despite ever more tenuous state finances, Gov. Bruce Rauner and many lawmakers appear poised to embrace expensive incentive packages once unanimously derided by Springfield. Oct 6, 2017 6:00 AM
Explainer Gerrymandering In Illinois: New Numbers Challenge Conventional Wisdom Reformers hope a pending U.S. Supreme Court case reins in the widespread manipulation of election districts by powerbrokers, but data in the case suggest such gerrymandering in Illinois is less severe than in many states. Aug 30, 2017 5:30 AM
Explainer As The Nation’s Rail Hub, Chicago Is An Expensive And Dangerous Bottleneck Nearly $1 trillion in goods chug annually through the city on a severely tangled network of rails, prompting some industry leaders to weigh ways to bypass Chicago entirely. Aug 23, 2017 3:00 PM
Explainer Breaking Down Gov. Rauner's Dispute With Illinois' Largest Public Labor Union Illinois has continued to grapple over the costs of pay and benefits for members of the state’s largest public employee union. Gov. Bruce Rauner is trying to squeeze major contract concessions from AFSCME, while both sides accuse the other of bargaining in bad faith. Jun 29, 2017 6:00 AM
