Has Illinois been able to reverse its worst-in-the-nation budget trends?

head and shoulders picture of Adam Schuster
Adam Schuster, director of budget and tax policy, Illinois Policy Institute

Illinois has some of the nation’s top pension debt and decades of irresponsible budget-making. Another session of the General Assembly has come to a close. Were legislators able or willing to make progress in finally addressing these decades-old long-standing issues, or were they once again swept under the rug and put off for future? Is what happens in Illinois a bad lesson for your state’s government?

Please join Adam Schuster, director of budget and tax policy of Illinois Policy Institute for a sober analysis of the state’s budget future, in an always lively and fascinating discussion.

Zoom Webinar presented by Henry George School of Chicago and Council of Georgist Organizations
When: 7 pm EDT/6 pm CDT, Tuesday, June 15, 2021
Please request an invitation to participate in the Zoom Webinar here.

Alternatively, you may attend this event in person at the Henry George School at Signature Offices, 333 S Wabash Ave #2700, Chicago, Illinois. You must let us know that you will attend in person by sending an email message to events@hgchicago.org with your name, phone number, and email address.

Suburban Living for Most of Us: Evolution of Residential Development in Chicago’s Western Suburbs

image of David A. Wilson outdoors in hat David A. Wilson
David Wilson, author of the forthcoming book Towns Along the Q, will discuss the consequences of certain disastrous and discriminatory housing policies that he has become familiar with in the course of researching the topic, development of Chicago’s western suburbs along the Chicago Burlington & Quincy Railway.

Use this link to register for the Zoom Webinar.

When: 7:00 pm EDT/6:00 pm CDT
Thursday July 15 2021

More CGO sessions by zoom, coming up

image credit: GoSimpleTax CC BY 2.0

Council of Georgist Organizations has announced more on-line sessions, including two on assessment.  Details are on their site. Previous sessions in the series may be found by searching “Council of Georgist Organizations” on youtube.  Videos from prior annual conferences are linked here.

How Land Speculation and Credit Expansion Create Boom/Bust Cycles

  • CGO logoThe Council of Georgist Organizations has reformatted its annual conference as an extended on-line series. The first session, How Land Speculation and Credit Expansion Create Boom/Bust Cycles, will be this Sunday, May 17, noon CDT.  Speakers:
  • Richard Vague
  • Polly Cleveland
  • Dan Sullivan

Speaker bios are here.

All interested are welcome to attend, using the zoom link

or by phone using the password 779472 at one of the numbers listed here.

 

March 23 2020 event cancelled: Investigate a proposal for Illinois’ fiscal recovery

“Eternal Indian” at Oregon, IL, prior to rehabilitation. Image credit: Charles Carper (CC BY 2.0)

Adam Schuster March 23 2020 presentation has been cancelled.

Illinois Forward: A 5-year plan for balanced budgets, declining debt and tax relief

Adam Schuster suggests that raising taxes won’t cure the distress of our state and local governments. He presents a fair alternative.

In his new Illinois Forward report, the Illinois Policy Institute’s Adam Schuster finds that “The state’s fiscal crisis has been built during nearly two decades of spending more than it brings in, driven primarily by unsustainable and rising costs for public sector pensions. As a result, Illinois’ overall financial health is perhaps the worst in the nation.

“Fortunately, Illinois can still be brought back from the brink if elected leaders get serious about bipartisan spending reforms that have seen success in other states. The three commonsense proposals in this report show how.

“Illinoisans deserve a state government that respects their wallets and provides them with valuable services. Unsustainable pension costs and ever-rising tax burdens deprive them of both.”

The full report is available here. Following his presentation, Mr. Schuster will respond to questions and comments from attendees. Note that the report was not produced by and is not endorsed by the Henry George School. The School sponsors this event to encourage thoughtful discussion of public finance issues.

This presentation will be rescheduled for a later time.

Starting in January: Progress & Poverty, Applied Economics, more

image credit: Brian D. Luster CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Introducing Progress & Poverty, a single session providing an overview of Henry George’s most important ideas and how they apply here and now, will be presented twice in January, on Thursdays January 9 and January 16.  The first session will be done by veteran HGS instructor George Menninger, and the second by instructor Chuck Metalitz. Both sessions are free, but building management requires that you pre-register, which can be done thru Eventbrite for January 9 and January 16.   Both sessions are at 333 S Wabash, and start at 6:15PM.  If you’re intruigued, you’ll have the opportunity to sign up for our full Progress & Poverty course which begins January 23.

For those who’ve already taken Progress & Poverty with us or another Henry George School, or the equivalent course at the Henry George Institute or elsewhere, we also offer the advanced Applied Economics: International Trade course.

 

 

Henry George Day is September 2; Introducing Progress and Poverty September 17

image credit: kalymnos77 CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

We’re told that the economy has recovered and prosperity reigns. It may be easier to find work, but getting a decent wage that pays for housing, health care, and other necessities of life is as tough as ever for many. The problem isn’t new, and the cause isn’t difficult to find. Nor is the remedy obscure, once you understand how the economy works.

Henry George’s classic work, Progress and Poverty, is a superb guide in this endeavor. It draws on ideas of the great classical econo­mists, historians, and philoso­phers. Thoughtful academics, acti­vists and others in subsequent de­cades have brought the ideas up to date and showed how they’re even more applicable in the 21st century.

In less than two hours, Introducing Progress and Poverty provides an overview of the course and the ideas therein. Even if you have no intention of enrolling in the ten-session course, this first session will change your understanding of where the economy is headed, why, and how it might go elsewhere.  There’s no obligation but preregistration is required.

Also, we’ll wish HG a happy 180th birthday at our customary Henry George Day celebration in Evanston on September 2 (labor day).  This is a potluck and all friends of the School are welcome. Information here.

Coming up: Book Club and CGO Conference

The Political Economy Book Club is back in action with a new meeting place, Bridgeport Coffeehouse’s Loop location (73 E Jackson Blvd). The June/July selection is Jack London’s The Iron Heel, which looks back on the 20th century from the 27th. This Tuesday evening group will cover the first half of this book on June 25, and the rest on July 23. Details on our events page.

Also, the Council of Georgist Organizations will hold its 2019 conference in Pittsburgh on July 23-27.  Full details are on the CGO site.