Author: Kevin Bessler
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Industry expert: More than doubling sports gambling tax will have negative impact
(The Center Square) – An industry expert says Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s budget proposal to increase the sports betting tax by 20% could cause ripple effects in the industry. If approved by the legislature, the tax for sports book operators would go from 15% to 35%, one of the highest percentages in the country. If enacted, the higher…
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Science group raises concerns over Illinois’ attempt to ban food additives
(The Center Square) – A move to ban certain food additives in Illinois is getting the attention of the scientific community. The Illinois Food Safety Act in Senate Bill 2637 would ban several additives, including potassium bromate and red dye No. 3. California and New York are working on similar bans, but if enacted, Illinois would have…
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Educational group calls Invest in Kids test scores report deeply flawed
(The Center Square) – An educational nonprofit is highly critical of a report on Illinois tax credit scholarship recipients’ test scores. In the report conducted for the Illinois State Board of Education by WestEd, Empower Illinois said researchers compared low-income Invest in Kids scholarship recipients to all Illinois public school students, rendering the results meaningless because they lack…
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Infrastructure bill to help truck driver shortage
As a driver shortage worsens, trucking groups are pleased to see the inclusion of legislation in the infrastructure bill that aims to attract more trucker candidates. The American Trucking Association estimates that 60,800 driving jobs went unfilled in 2019. Without action, they believe it is only going to get worse. The average age for truck…