Editor’s Note: The BGA Think Tank’s “Statewide Update” is a daily summary of policy and government news from around the state. Each morning we scan news outlets from Rockford to Belleville and bring you the headlines that influence policy makers across the state.
- Bloomington Pantagraph, Editorial— More timely budget figures welcome addition: “Government transparency doesn’t just mean making information public; transparency includes making that information easy to find. Therefore, Illinoisans should be happy to see a new “page” on the state of Illinois website that provides more timely information about expenditures — and how they match the budget.”
- State Journal Register (AP)— Gov. Quinn terminates Put Illinois to Work program: “Quinn says he will now focus on passing legislation to increase incentives for businesses to hire new workers.”
- Rockford Register Star— State unemployment insurance tax will go up for nearly all businesses: “A firm’s tax rate is calculated using three factors: its “experience factor,” based on how many of its former employees have filed unemployment claims; the state’s experience rate, calculated by the fund’s expenses and revenues; and an additional fund-building rate to help keep the fund liquid.”
- Peoria Journal Star— District 150 will raise its taxes: “Property taxes to rise 2.4% next year for those within boundaries.”
- State Journal Register, Editorial— Nix illogical expansion of gambling: “We don’t foresee an expansion like this one bringing in more gambling money … We also see it as another step toward treating gambling not as a tourist draw — an important component of the argument for legalizing riverboat gambling 19 years ago — but as a means of extracting money from Illinois citizens.”
