Do Illinois citizens deserve to know where their tax dollars go? Less than ten years ago, a state audit found that many of our public officials didn’t think so. More than two-thirds of requests for public documents, the study found, were turned away at local offices. More than a quarter of them were denied altogether....
Illinois’ Medicaid program suffers from a number of maladies that increase costs for all while deteriorating service for its enrollees. Among these are a perverse set of incentives—incentives that not only perpetuate a culture of dependency among Medicaid recipients, but that also block potential reforms to fix the system. Because Medicaid is a joint federal...
Many Illinois citizens, facing unaffordable insurance costs within state borders, are forced to cross their fingers when it comes to their family’s health. It doesn’t have to be this way. Illinois families and children can live healthier, happier and safer lives. Every day, Americans purchase products from around the country—vegetables from California, fruit from Florida,...
Many Illinois children are currently trapped in failing public schools. Most of these children, whose futures are put at risk due simply to geography and bureaucracy, would thrive if given equal choices and greater educational opportunities. Those opportunities can come in the form of the expansion of a simple tax credit—the Illinois Education Expense Tax...
The most significant development in American public education over the past fifteen years has been the advent of charter schools. There are more than 4,000 charter schools operating nationwide. Some states are home to hundreds of charter schools. Illinois is lagging far behind. There are only 35 charter schools in Illinois, enrolling less than one...
Why local funding is the best way to publicly finance education.