Austin Berg – Page 11

Berg: Useless committees provide political pay raises for state lawmakers

June 5, 2018 at 8:27 p.m.

In Illinois, bloat doesn't discriminate. It's not just government agencies that stick taxpayers with the bill for inefficient operations. It's state lawmakers, too. Yes, the same ones who haven't passed...

Berg: State senators stave off spending reform, test tax hikes instead

June 5, 2018 at 10:19 p.m.

Every week, there seems to be news of yet another massive tax hike out of Springfield. First came the multibillion-dollar income tax hike. Then a statewide tax on sugary drinks....

Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, left, and Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan.

Berg: Why a fair, balanced budget takes political courage

June 6, 2018 at 12:26 a.m.

Illinoisans are fleeing the state in record numbers. Homeowners pay the highest property taxes in the nation. And high-need residents are suffering under budget priorities that don't put them at...

Berg: A solution to the property tax problem

June 6, 2018 at 2:28 a.m.

Todd Grigg teaches the importance of dollars and cents. For more than 20 years, students in Grigg's consumer education class at Triad High School in Troy, Illinois, have learned how...

Berg: For many Illinoisans, the next recession has arrived

June 6, 2018 at 4:39 a.m.

Illinois is not working. Since the end of the Great Recession, most members of the Illinois General Assembly have taken one of two approaches to this throbbing reality. The first...

Berg: AFSCME strike vote is an insult to middle-class Illinoisans

June 6, 2018 at 6:52 a.m.

Leadership at Illinois' largest state-worker union wants a strike. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees announced its intentions Jan. 13. At the end of the month, the...

Berg: Why a budget won’t fix Illinois

June 6, 2018 at 10:47 a.m.

Did you feel it? As 2016 expired at midnight Dec. 31, so too did Illinois' stopgap budget. That six-month spending plan pushed our state, already the least creditworthy in the...

The Illinois capitol is seen on June 29, 2016. From July 2015 to July 2016, the state's population declined by more than 37,000 people.

Berg: Our regrettable shrinking state

June 8, 2018 at 12:34 p.m.

The U.S. Census Bureau released new migration data Dec. 20, and it's frightening. Illinois has a massive people problem. From July 2015 to July 2016, the state's population declined by...

House Speaker Michael Madigan has had the political leverage in the state for decades.

Berg: All I want for Christmas is a new speaker

June 8, 2018 at 2:14 p.m.

The holidays are a time to reflect, give thanks and prepare for the unbounded, nameless future ahead. For Illinois politicians, that should look something like this: * Reflect on the...

Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago.

All I want for Christmas is a new House speaker

June 8, 2018 at 2:17 p.m.

The holidays are a time to reflect, give thanks and prepare for the unbounded, nameless future ahead. For Illinois politicians, that should look something like this: *Reflect on the perverse...

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