Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner is championing a term-limits referendum proposal to amend the Illinois Constitution. If the measure is successful, it would limit terms in the Illinois General Assembly to eight years. The proposal has three major hurdles to pass to become law. It must: Gather more than 300,000 signatures to appear on the ballot Survive...
In a free enterprise system, businesses grow organically by providing customers with products of value, and in return customers reward those businesses with their hard-earned money. Unfortunately, in Illinois the free enterprise system has been corrupted by bad government policies. Because of Illinois’ high taxes, regulations and anti-free-market policies, many businesses now resort to playing...
Term limits are a foreign concept to most Illinoisans. There are no term limit provisions governing our state legislature or constitutional officers. At least 39 other states have some form of term limits that apply to either state legislators or constitutional officers. Only a few municipalities in Illinois, such as Downers Grove, have any formal term-limits policy. But...
Instead of creating a business-friendly environment by keeping taxes and regulations low, Illinois state government and the city of Chicago have a laundry list of special tools they claim promote economic development. These tools include: tax increment financing, or TIF, districts; economic grants; and a series of loopholes in the tax code. When government gives...
With unpaid bills exceeding $8 billion, long-term debt surpassing $200 billion and the worst credit rating in the nation, revelations that the “broke” state of Illinois spent $670,000 on copper-plated doors and another$500,000 for chandeliers and sculptures for the Capitol in Springfield is an embarrassment for the entire state. Earning bad press and the scorn of angry taxpayers still reeling from the 2011 income...
Here’s the traditional Chicago-style hot dog recipe: 1 all-beef hot dog 1 poppy seed hot dog bun 1 tablespoon yellow mustard 1 tablespoon sweet green pickle relish 1 tablespoon chopped onion 4 tomato wedges 1 dill pickle spear 2 sport peppers 1 dash celery salt Sounds good, doesn’t it? But if someone skipped the celery...
If you want to criticize a politician, should you have to check with your lawyer first or get the government’s permission? You wouldn’t think so – at least not in America, where we have a First Amendment that’s supposed to protect our right to free speech. Unfortunately, laws enacted under the guise of “campaign finance...
Recording and publishing the audio of board meetings is an essential public good. This form of transparency creates an opportunity for the public to be informed about government bodies and elected officials that represent them, and gives the public an important tool to hold government accountable for its actions. Unfortunately, Belvidere Township in Boone County...
On August 27, Gov. Quinn signed into law Senate Bill 923 which allows stop-arm cameras to be installed on school buses statewide. School districts would partner with a municipality or county to install and administer the stop-arm cameras violations. Violations would garner fines of up to $150 for a for a first time violation, and up to...
Extravagant doors designed by world class architects, coated in brilliant copper, no doubt would catch the eyes of many, but in Illinois they’re drawing attention for a whole different reason. Wasting money is nothing new regarding Illinois government, but the lavish new doors appearing on the state Capitol building are garnering some increasingly negative attention....
On August 27, the Illinois Policy Institute awarded the united city of Yorkville a Sunshine Award for its efforts in online transparency. Yorkville has adopted many of the recommendations outlined in the Institute’s10-Point Transparency Checklist and scored 84.9 points out of a possible 100 earlier this year. Yorkville has created a dedicated page on its website...
Divvy bike stations are expanding throughout Chicago, offering riders low membership costs and 24-hour rental fees. But this multimillion-dollar project is bringing in only a fraction of the money necessary to fund it. Last year, the city of Chicago announced a controversial $65 million contract with ALTA Bicycle Share to operate a 4,000 bicycle bike-share program in...
Cash-strapped Chicago is about to get an injection of money from motorists. The city is installing its controversial speed cameras at four neighborhood parks on Monday, and has plans for eight additional locations in the next few months. The city announced the results from a test of the new technology that showed surprising results. During a December trial,...
Gov. Quinn signed into law Senate Bill 2356, which increases speed limits on rural highways to 70 miles per hour. The limit increase only affects highways outside of urban areas. Highways within Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, Madison, McHenry, St. Clair, and Will counties will be able to opt out through local ordinances. According to the Chicago Tribune:...