Editorials

Gov. Pat Quinn’s budget proposal, complete with a 33 percent income-tax increase, has received lukewarm response from area residents and lawmakers.

Among the most vital services provided by government at any level are those that help to protect and save lives.

Toward the end of his budget address Wednesday, Gov. Pat Quinn said, “I do not believe the people of Illinois want us to balance our budget today by sacrificing the future of a generation of children,” only moments after announcing a plan to balance the budget by sacrificing the future of a generation of children.

The U.S. Postal Service is in trouble – big trouble, but not insurmountable trouble.

Pushy. Overbearing. Gruff. Those words describe door-to-door salesmen who have been making the rounds in DeKalb County, saying they represent a company called Just Energy, according to the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office.

The Good Ship Illinois is sinking.

Local school districts are in trouble. They're all dealing with huge budget shortfalls as state funding lags.

There is a bill floating through the Illinois Legislature that would make some state mandates no longer mandatory, but optional.

Hinckley-Big Rock High School had much to celebrate at Sunday’s parade honoring its girls basketball team.

The state of Illinois is in financial ruins.

President Obama today was to unveil his proposal for changes to the U.S. Senate’s health care bill.

The University of Illinois Extension Service is one of the most practical educational ideas ever devised. Take the latest land-grant university research, “extend” it to people across the state to improve their lives and livelihoods, and watch the overall quality of life improve.

Kishwaukee College could raise tuition by $6 per credit hour for the next academic year.

Gov. Pat Quinn’s new Web site, budget.illinois.gov, contains plenty of helpful tips for fixing the state’s fiscal mess from Illinois residents, including some local folks.

Yes, telling County Board members not to speak with constituents about a proposed landfill extension flies in the face of conventional wisdom when it comes to democracy.

The Kaneland School District is in a financial bind, but we think it is taking the right steps for its future.

Back in 1976, popular U.S. Attorney James R. Thompson rode his no-nonsense, tough-on-crime reputation all the way to the governor’s mansion.

Illinois state senators might have broken state law last week when they met behind closed doors to discuss ongoing fiscal issues.

Redistricting should be for the people, not the politicians.

The numbers are staggering.

The federal government announced late last month that Amtrak service from Chicago to Dubuque, Iowa, would not get funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, prompting a pre-primary promise from Gov. Pat Quinn that the state would help pay for it instead.

Illinois’ financial crisis, highlighted by a $3.6 billion backlog of unpaid bills and an expected $13 billion fiscal year deficit, is shortchanging not only our present but our future.