Navigation

Tag, you're it! PSN's website uses tags to categorize content. You are viewing a list of content tagged as Illinois.
For a more organized view, please visit the Illinois state page.

Illinois

Judicial Elections Public Financing: Balancing Independent Courts and Voter Choice

Christian Smith-Socaris on October 27, 2008 - 12:44pm
Once the sleepy backwater of electoral politics, judicial elections have recently become a battleground where right wing and corporate groups spend large sums to fill the courts with jurists who will support their interests.  This is perhaps the most troubling example of money corrupting our politics, because instead of pay-to-play politics it gives us pay-to-win justice.  The independence of the judiciary simply cannot be maintained in an environment where jurists are competing for votes in high-priced, bare-knuckle political brawls. 

Paid Sick Days on Ballot in Milwaukee

Nathan Newman on September 25, 2008 - 11:35am
Milwaukee has a paid sick leave referendum on the ballot for November that would allow employees to take leave for medical treatment, preventive care, or diagnosis for themselves, as well as to care for a close family member who is sick or who needs diagnosis or preventive care. Additionally, employees would be allowed to use the time to deal with domestic violence or sexual assault (for example, using accrued time to flee to safety.)  Employees at firms with 10 workers or less could accumulate up to 40 hours, whereas larger companies would have to provide up to 72 hours of paid sick leave.

Promoting Wage Enforcement Laws as an Alternative to Anti-Immigrant Proposals

Nathan Newman on September 22, 2008 - 5:57pm
Instead of allowing the right-wing to scapegoat undocumented immigrant workers, Progressive States Network will be working with progressive leaders across the country to introduce wage enforcement laws that emphasize that native and immigrant workers both suffer under illegal working conditions. See State Immigration Project: Policy Options for 2009 for the full range of immigration policies Progressive States Network is supporting in upcoming legislative sessions.

Making College Affordable for All

PSN on August 25, 2008 - 10:06am
The benefits of a post-secondary degree are plentiful.  For example, an employee with a four year college degree earns 60 percent more than a worker with only a high school diploma. Paying for college, however, has become a daunting task and strain for many American students and families.  The cost of higher education across the country is rapidly increasing, at almost double the rate of inflation, outpacing increases in financial aid and many families ability to pay.  The combination of these factors result in too many students being unable to earn or complete their degrees due to financial constraints.

Bills that Made a Difference in 2008

admin on July 14, 2008 - 10:13am
Even with many states having short sessions, the 2008 state legislative sessions have already had some impressive milestone victories for families and communities across the country.  This Dispatch covers a few of the key issue victories this year -- and points out that states are still taking the lead on issue after issue.  Most of the bills highlighted became law, while a few, falling short of final passage, were innovative enough and showed enough movement to promise greater things for 2009.

States Still Leading Feds on Minimum Wage

Nathan Newman on July 10, 2008 - 9:54am
With food and gas prices rising rapidly, low-wage workers can at least welcome an increase in the federal minium wage to $6.55 per hour scheduled to go into effect on July 24th.  Even better, a number of states will also be increasing their minimum wage rates even higher than the federal rate:

2008 Session Roundups: Illinois

PSN on July 7, 2008 - 9:39am
Running for the US Senate representing Illinois in 1858, Abraham Lincoln said, "A house divided against itself cannot stand."  In present-day Illinois, animosity between Democratic leaders - Governor Rod Balgojevich and Speaker Michael Madigan - may bear this out.  The hostility between the two men, who are not on speaking terms, is the result of fierce disagreements over past and current budget provisions and a federal investigation into gubernatorial appointments and campaign donations.  The Speaker recently sent a memo to Democratic legislative candidates with talking points concerning when and how to bring impeachment proceedings against the Governor.  The breakdown in communication has clearly effected the state's business.

Two States With Tarnished Images Make Strong Gains on Ethics in 2008

PSN on June 26, 2008 - 5:01pm
Many states have suffered from public officials being involved in ethics scandals.  While sometimes there is talk of reform and other overtures, comprehensive reform is most often elusive.  However, some states have managed, either in response to one particularly egregious event or a history of problems being overturned in a wave of dissatisfaction, to truly make a fundamental change.  This year Connecticut once again moved forward with a multi-year ethics reform initiative, and Louisiana enacted one of the most far-reaching ethics overhauls any state has in generations.

Illinois Legislature Passes Pay-to-Play Contracting Reform, Bill Awaits Governor's Signature

PSN on June 19, 2008 - 12:55pm
Illinois stands out as a state famous for corrupt politics.  For generations, patronage and pay-to-play politics have been raised to an art form by state and local politicians.  The state's last governor is in jail for racketeering.  The current governor is under federal investigation for allegedly giving jobs and no-bid contracts to campaign supporters, more than 200 of whom have given the governor checks for exactly $25,000.  Advocates of good government such as the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform have fought for years to bring the states' corrupt government officials to heel.