Illinois Lawmakers want to create MORE Journalists in the state

Lawmakers in the Land of Lincoln are discussing "Tax Breaks" for media companies to hopefully create more local journalists, is this something you support? Here are the details...

According to an article from The Center Square, Illinois lawmakers are discussing legislation that would give media companies tax breaks in order to boost the number of local journalists in the state.

In the article, they say "Senate Bill 3953, called the Local Journalism Sustainability Act, would provide tax incentives for local news outlets to hire more journalists and was discussed in a Senate committee late Wednesday...a third of local newspapers in Illinois have folded during the past 20 years, and there has been an 85% reduction in newsroom employees." The article goes on to mention that research from Northwestern suggests there are 100 counties in Illinois with no local news source, to read more about this possible new law in Illinois, click here!

READ MORE: A small town in Illinois will pay you $10,000 to move there

Uhhhh...Conflict of Interest???

I am all in support of people having more local news sources, local news is extremely important to keep small-town politicians, police, business owners, and others accountable to the people in their communities. But if you are a local news source that is getting tax breaks from the government, how likely are you to criticize that same government if they are doing something you believe is corrupt and the people should know about? I do think finding a way for local media companies to hire more employees is a great idea, maybe by grants, or fundraising, but tax breaks don't seem like the way to go, do you agree?