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Stimulus
PI Original
by Ellyn Fortino
5:09pm
Tue Apr 2

Local Advocacy Groups Call For Restoration Of State Homeless Student Education Funds

Education

Given the potential record-breaking number of schools closing in Chicago and a recent report showing an increased number of homeless students in Illinois, anti-homeless advocates say it’s more important than ever for the state to restore funding for the education of students with unstable homes.

PI Original
by Steven Ross Johnson
4:31pm
Thu Aug 9, 2012

Public Sector Job Losses Continue To Stymie Economic Recovery

Economy

As the effects of what has become known as the "Great Recession" continue to linger, state and local governments throughout the country have been forced to face the increasingly difficult task of providing an array of public services under ever-tightening budget constraints. Many of these cuts have led to the loss of government jobs. We take a look at how the loss of public jobs is continuing to affect the economic recovery.

Quick Hit
by Matthew Blake
12:23pm
Tue Jul 10, 2012
2 comments

Report: Public Sector Job Losses Causing Slow Economic Recovery

The federal jobs report released Friday arrived three years after the recession ended, according to the Federal Reserve. Yet the national unemployment rate is still at 8.2 percent, or 12.7 million Americans – an alarming figure that does not even include part-time workers or those who stopped looking for a job.

According to the liberal, Washington, D.C.-based Economic Policy Institute, the reason for this is pretty clear (though not mentioned by either presidential campaign): What distinguishes the Great Recession recovery from the economic recoveries of the early 1990s and early 2000s is the loss of public sector jobs. Read more »

Quick Hit
by Matthew Blake
4:02pm
Thu Jun 14, 2012
5 comments

State Budget Deals A Blow To Struggling School Districts

In his annual budget address this February, Gov. Pat Quinn singled out education as an area that the state government is not cutting, despite his overall push toward fiscal austerity.

“I believe in the power of education to create opportunity in our society,” the governor said. “This is why I have maintained our basic investment in education, despite extremely hard times.”

But the budget the Illinois General Assembly sent the governor includes $857 million or 8.2 percent in state education budget cuts from fiscal year 2012 to fiscal year 2013, which begins July 1. The cuts will especially impact less wealthy school districts that cannot turn to local property tax revenue in lieu of reduced state money. Read more »

Quick Hit
by Adam Doster
1:36pm
Wed Sep 1, 2010

Getting Illinoisans Online

Thanks to timely public and private investments, the digital divide is slowly shrinking in Illinois. As part of the federal stimulus program, Congress allocated $7.2 billion in grants to fund broadband Internet projects nationwide. Illinois has benefited greatly, taking in almost $250 million in infrastructure and adoption dollars. Just this past week, Gov. Pat Quinn unveiled four of those projects, which his administration says will create 600 jobs and connect 1,000 institutions like schools and hospitals to the information superhighway. The state and private companies are getting involved, as well. Lawmakers in Springfield earmarked $50 million in funds from last year's capital construction plan to support broadband projects while communications companies like Frontier are expanding their own service.

Still, there's lots of work to do if Illinois wants to achieve universal broadband access. Statewide, roughly 35 to 40 percent of residents still don't have broadband in their homes, either because it's too expensive or not available locally. As Connect Illinois' interactive map shows, there are huge access disparities in rural and low-income urban neighborhoods. Even if someone in those towns can get online, Internet-access speed is also considerably slower. In June, the Pew Center on the States released a report examining "the challenging steps states must take to improve broadband access." Check it out here.

Quick Hit
by Micah Maidenberg
12:15pm
Mon Aug 30, 2010

Republicans And Their Love-Hate Relationship With Stimulus Dollars

Given the opposition to federal stimulus legislation we've seen from Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Brady, it's worth noting that a neighboring state's high-profile GOP governor is now seeking nearly $435 million of those exact funds. Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels' administration is applying for $207 million in Medicaid funding and another $227 million in education dollars thanks to the $26 billion state aid package that went into effect earlier this month -- largely due to the votes of House and Senate Democrats and President Barack Obama's support. 

Brady, on the other hand, called the bill "typical Washington games" and said he opposed its passage. But the legislation will give state governments a much-needed boost. The Quinn Administration is seeking around $1 billion for Illinois, including $415 million to support an estimated 5,700 teaching jobs and up to $550 million in health care for the poor. Perhaps Daniels, a critic of the Obama Administration's stimulus programs, including the latest package, needs to give his would-be Illinois counterpart a call to discuss the fiscal realities state governments are facing right now.