Over $60,000 Spent Per Household in Poverty

“According to the Census’s American Community Survey, the number of households with incomes below the poverty line in 2011 was 16,807,795,” the Senate Budget Committee notes. “If you divide total federal and state spending by the number of households...

CPD Brass Wasting Money Trying to Track Gunshots

The Police Department began using gunshot detection technology early last month in two 1.5-square-mile areas to try to better pinpoint the location of gunshots, Superintendent Garry McCarthy disclosed Thursday. The sensors sometimes give officers information before...

Pension’s Rate of Return Plummets to 0.76%

This sounds like a problem: The pension fund for most public school teachers in Illinois generated just 0.76 percent in fiscal 2012, a big drop from the 23.6 percent rate of return in the previous fiscal year, the Teachers’ Retirement System reported on...

Illinois Tollway Netting $Billion per Year

To help pay for these projects, the tollway anticipates raking in $977 million from tolls in 2013 – thanks to the 87.5 percent increase that went into effect Jan. 1. via Chicago Tribune. Doh!  

30,000 Unfilled Jobs in Illinois

Say “skills gap” to any manufacturer, and invariably they’ll respond with the number 600,000. That’s the gaping hole of unfilled jobs at U.S. manufacturers — for Illinois, estimates point to 30,000 unfilled jobs. The talent shortfall carries serious...