PAYGO Gets House Vote
PAYGO Gets House Vote
A plank in the Institute's Economic Reform Agenda got a vote in the House. It's a good idea; here's why.
Kristina Rasmussen’s Testimony on Illinois Budget
Kristina Rasmussen’s Testimony on Illinois Budget
On February 23, Kristina Rasmussen testified before the Illinois Senate Appropriations Committee on the State Budget. Download her complete testimony here.
Taxpayers Fund Union Raises While the CTA Cuts Service
Taxpayers Fund Union Raises While the CTA Cuts Service
In 2009, the CTA received $25 million in direct funding from the state but it still needed to cut service to close a budget deficit after union workers refused to return a 3.5% pay raise.
In Fiscal Year 2009, the State of Illinois Paid Companies in Other States Over $800,000.00
In Fiscal Year 2009, the State of Illinois Paid Companies in Other States Over $800,000.00
Illinois spent at least $813,653,009.72 on purchases from other states.
Institute in the Examiner: Illinois in Dire Spending Straits? Then Why Are We Promoting Quail?
Institute in the Examiner: Illinois in Dire Spending Straits? Then Why Are We Promoting Quail?
$6,500 for a tub of live bass? $78,066 for quail promotion? $353,165 for car racing? Does this sound like a budget for a state in dire fiscal straits?
Gov. Quinns Budget Transparency?
Gov. Quinns Budget Transparency?
State budget transparency on the way?
Out Of Control: The Explosion of Illinois State Government Spending
Out Of Control: The Explosion of Illinois State Government Spending
The Problem State spending in Illinois has skyrocketed over the past decade, increasing 39 percent from 1998 to 2008 (after inflation). “Appropriated Funds Expenditures” include general, highway, special state, bond financed, debt service, federal trust, revolving funds, and state trust funds. Illinois’s population growth has been minimal, increasing just under 7 percent between 1998 and...
Putting the “Laboratory of the States” to Work in Illinois
Putting the “Laboratory of the States” to Work in Illinois
“The way to get good ideas is to get lots of ideas, and throw the bad ones away.” So said Linus Pauling, the two-time Nobel Prize winner for chemistry. A lot of ideas have been suggested to solve Illinois’s budget shortfall, and it’s time to separate the good from the bad. According to the National...
Ten Ways to Balance the Budget Without Tax Hikes
Ten Ways to Balance the Budget Without Tax Hikes
Governor Pat Quinn claims that $3.2 billion in new personal and corporate income tax receipts are necessary to put Illinois’s budget back in the black. In a down economy, however, the last thing that families and businesses need to worry about is the dangling noose of higher taxes. The Illinois Policy Institute recently released an...
Illinois Budget Facts
Illinois Budget Facts
The Problem • State spending in Illinois has skyrocketed over the past decade, increasing 39% after inflation per capita since 1998. Meanwhile, population has only grown 6.8%. • In 1998, state spending per citizen was $3500. Ten years later, state spending per citizen was $4600 (inflation adjusted). • Overall, the state budget has ballooned from...
Doing Well By Doing Good: Cost-cutting reforms for Illinois
Doing Well By Doing Good: Cost-cutting reforms for Illinois
The Problem Budgeting and ethics problems continue to compound in Illinois. The state’s budget deficit tops $9 billion, spending continues to surge, and there is little to no transparency as to where—and to whom—tax dollars are going. This must be checked and stopped. Our Solution Implementing statewide transparency and creating a Council on Efficient Government...
Government Goes On A Diet: Designing a sensible expenditure limit for Illinois
Government Goes On A Diet: Designing a sensible expenditure limit for Illinois
Government has become a glutton. In Illinois, a voracious appetite for more spending has led the state budget to balloon from $24.7 billion in 2004 to $32.2 billion in 2009 – an increase of nearly 30 percent over just five years. It’s time to put government on a diet. A sensible expenditure limit would ensure...
You Spent My Tax Dollars on What??
You Spent My Tax Dollars on What??
While families and private businesses balance their budget in tight economic times, the government continues with its extravagant spending. Deficits don’t appear out of nowhere, especially not with our state’s irresponsible spending habits. When it comes to balancing the budget in hard times, every little bit counts. This report presents some silly spending and wasteful programs funded...
A Stress Test for Government
A Stress Test for Government
Over the past few weeks, the U.S. government has been busy issuing “stress tests” to determine whether the nation’s largest banks are solvent. Today, the Illinois Policy Institute decided to join in by releasing it’s very own “stress test.” There’s one catch: It’s not for troubled banks. It’s for the government itself. You can check...