How refreshing: “Missouri Legislature opens with no-tax-hike pledges”
How refreshing: “Missouri Legislature opens with no-tax-hike pledges”
A fresh start with the right priorities.
Institute in Crain’s: Cost of teacher pensions swamping classroom needs
Institute in Crain’s: Cost of teacher pensions swamping classroom needs
The Institute's Pensions vs. schools: Higher education report was featured in Crain's Chicago Business.
Pensions vs. schools: Higher education
Pensions vs. schools: Higher education
The problem Illinois is facing a fiscal crisis. The expense of retirement benefits is overwhelming many areas of the state budget. Lawmakers have known of this situation for years, but thus far have not adopted a comprehensive solution. The state faces an $85 billion unfunded liability to its pensions systems. It owes another $45 billion...
State union contract had called for two more rounds of raises at start of 2012
State union contract had called for two more rounds of raises at start of 2012
Gov. Quinn and the unions are still bickering over money for state raises, but the contract had called for two raises at the start of 2012.
Scrooge the investor, job creator
Scrooge the investor, job creator
by Kristina Rasmussen Jim Lacey provides a much-needed new perspective on Ebenezer Scrooge over at NRO: More than anything else, Scrooge’s investments created jobs. A man with the wealth Dickens implies Scrooge possesses was probably making investments that employed many thousands of workers. History tells us that these “men of business” also reaped most of the rewards....
Rebooting transparency
Rebooting transparency
by Mark Cavers This article, along with other original stories, first appeared in the Institute’s quarterly magazine, the Compass. The Illinois Policy Institute released a report in November exposing how the state was removing salary information from its designated transparency website. We are happy to announce that the state has returned the information to the portal. The state...
2012: What’s next for Illinois citizens post-redistricting?
2012: What’s next for Illinois citizens post-redistricting?
by Brian Costin According to the Illinois State Constitution,“In the year following each Federal decennial census year, the General Assembly by law shall redistrict the Legislative Districts and the Representative Districts.” The redistricting process in Illinois has always been a hyper-political process subject to vast criticism, and this year’s redistricting process is no exception. However, the Illinois...
Illinois legislators sweat the small stuff
Illinois legislators sweat the small stuff
by Kristina Rasmussen Illinois has trouble. Big trouble. Our public pension system is one market crash away from disaster. Our unemployment numbers are over 10 percent. People are hightailing it for greener pastures. You’d think Illinois legislators would focus on turning this state around with bold reforms. Think again. Even as the Illinois General Assembly failed to address the pension crisis,...
Durbin can’t have it both ways
Durbin can’t have it both ways
by Kristina Rasmussen U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D) is hitting the media circuit raising concerns about stalled efforts to extend a temporary payroll tax holiday, warning that without action Illinois families will see their paychecks shrink: “A hundred and sixty million workers across America, 12 days from now, will see their payroll tax go up,” said Senator...
Pancakes, snow cones and robot dragons
Pancakes, snow cones and robot dragons
by Amanda Griffin-Johnson Earlier this week, U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., released Wastebook 2011, a report covering 100 examples of wasteful government spending. The examples range from millions of dollars to just a few thousand dollars, but all highlight how government uses taxpayer money to fund unnecessary projects, often not relating at all the to core purposes...
Elgin city tax hike
Elgin city tax hike
The Elgin City Council plans to vote tonight on a new budget that increases taxes and adds new fees. The Council has chosen to pursue new revenue sources to fill a $4.5 million deficit, rather than run a more efficient government. This strategy of higher taxes only compounds the problems that average Illinoisans and residents of Elgin...
Illinois’ out-migration crisis
Illinois’ out-migration crisis
by Ted Dabrowski Illinois is bleeding people to almost every state in the nation. People are packing up and voting with their feet. Gone – goodbye. When people leave, they don’t just take their belongings. With them go their earnings, their spending power and their contribution to society. When they own companies, they even take the...
It’s called freedom
It’s called freedom
by Kristina Rasmussen A letter writer to the State-Journal Register nails it: One of the things I’ve noticed in past exposure to politicians is that they are not dumb people. In fact, most are quite intelligent. The recent tax breaks for several Illinois employers is proof of that. When legislators approved a large tax hike a few months...
Budget Hawk, meet Tree Hugger: Coalition calls for the end of FutureGen earmark
Budget Hawk, meet Tree Hugger: Coalition calls for the end of FutureGen earmark
by Kristina Rasmussen Today I stood up with a left-right coalition to call for the end of the FutureGen earmark. Details are below. Illinois Farmers, Government Watchdogs, and Environmentalists Hold Press Conference on FutureGen and Its Implications on the Federal Budget and Environment Springfield, Illinois—Today, representatives of Taxpayers for Common Sense, The Heartland Institute, Friends of...