Despite the devastating public health and economic impacts of COVID-19, many are hopeful that the Great Pause — as some have coined the quarantine — may foster an ease in rancorous political divisions seen in the U.S. While there is some albeit scant evidence that is happening, economic and public health uncertainties spurred by the pandemic are more often unmasking deep-seated divisions. One such political movement in Illinois has only further manifested itself amidst state and city issued stay-at-home orders. Residents in central and southern counties of Illinois have started ,expressing th ..read more

,,Labor unions in California received a double blow of decreased membership rates and an unfavorable U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2018. But a Democratic governor with a proclivity for supporting organized labor and continuing lobbying efforts have proved those blows are not a death knell for unions in the Golden State. ,,In a state with a strong historical record of backing organized labor rights, union membership among California’s public employees saw a 4.7% drop from 2018 to 2017. That drop in membership occurred in the midst of Janus vs. AFSCME, the Supreme Court case that ended public se ..read more

,,An annual report on virtual education released last week reinforces the need for oversight and accountability in a growing niche market. But recent scandals among online institutions have done little to spur action from state or federal officials. ,,The Nation Education Policy Center publishes an ,,While there were some improvements from the year prior, data for the 2017-18 school year reveals that about half of full-time virtual schools have acceptable student performance ratings. The report also notes about half virtual school students graduate, compared to the national average of 84 ..read more

,,President Donald Trump’s decision in October not to freeze hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign aid to Central America elicited a general sigh of relief, particularly among U.S. Congress and administration officials. But the apparent relief from that decision belies humanitarian and political corruption issues that many social activist groups say are enabled by that same funding. ,,U.S. foreign assistance funding for security assurance — used to arm and train military and police forces — has constituted an increasingly larger percentage of foreign aid in the past decade. ,,Christina A ..read more

,,Despite the devastating public health and economic impacts of COVID-19, ,,many are hopeful that the Great Pause — as some have coined the quarantine — may foster an ease in rancorous political divisions seen in the U.S. While there is some albeit scant evidence that is happening, economic and public health uncertainties spurred by the pandemic are more often unmasking deep-seated divisions. ,,One such political movement in Illinois has only further manifested itself amidst state and city issued stay-at-home orders. Residents in central and southern counties of Illinois have started ,,A call ..read more

Four out of 11 state propositions on the 2018 ballot referred to some form of housing issue, reinforcing the dire need to get home prices closer in line with the rest of the country. Prop 10- the rent control initiative that was arguably the most controversial of the 4- inspired opponents to raise over $76 million just to kill the measure. But rent control laws are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to polarizing proposals, and it seems as if a host of issues will need to be addressed before effective policies can be implemented. Most experts agree that the problem cannot be fixed with ..read more

Not quite a year ago, President Trump signed the Bipartisan Budget Act, which not only kept the government afloat in the midst of a shutdown, but also signified the passage of an important piece of bipartisan legislation. The new child welfare law, or the Family First Prevention Services Act, now allows states to use their federal Title IV-E funding for family services that could prevent children from entering foster care. Previously, this funding could only be used for children already in care, such as maintenance payments to foster families or program management costs. With certain exceptio ..read more

Just like religion and politics are the classic no-go’s at family functions, how to support vulnerable populations also evokes strong emotions, especially in an increasingly polarizing climate. In an era where support for welfare funding gets you labelled a socialist-or advocating for private sector services means you’re greedy-the reality is that most of us genuinely want everyone to experience economic freedom and have the ability to independently provide for their families. So, when it comes to all of the different social insurance programs, how do we know what works and what does not? As ..read more

On September 7, 2018, California passed a law banning for-profit charter schools from operating in the state. The legislation was supported by the powerful California Teacher’s Association and while they initially rejected a similar bill in 2015, the California Charter Schools Association also jumped on board to support its passage. Even though less than 3% of charter schools in California are technically for-profit, the law cements the direction that the charter movement is heading in the Golden State. The reasons why many people have a visceral reaction to for-profit schools are quite intui ..read more

Californians pushing for prison reform now have the chance to weigh in on a new bill that would ban contracts with all for-profit correctional facilities in the state. AB-32, introduced by Assemblyman Rob Bonta in December, would definitively end the use of private prisons. While only about 3,700 Californians are actually housed in these facilities (including one in Arizona), the bill reinforces the state’s trend towards a correctional system exclusively run by state and county governments. The demand for privately-run correctional centers was largely driven by California’s high incarceration ..read more