by Collin Hitt The search for a new Cubs manager in many ways will be more exciting than watching that guy manage, when the time comes. The sportswriters guarantee that. And it’ll probably be more fun to receive the job than to have it, at least in the short run. The sportswriters make sure of...
by Kate Piercy Do you know how much you’re paying for lobbyists? Sunshine Review has released a paper about taxpayer-funded lobbying in Illinois, reporting information about lobbying contracts and membership in taxpayer-funded lobbying associations. Taxpayer-funded lobbying associations are groups funded at least in part by public dollars that lobby for the collective interests of government bodies. ...
by Kate Piercy Section 1604 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (AARA) specifically prohibits funds from flowing to certain entertainment and recreation projects. Does a casino, aquarium, zoo, golf course, or swimming pool sound like recreation or entertainment to you? Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), Ranking Member on the Committee on Government Oversight and...
Problem In a previous “Spotlight on Spending” analysis, the Illinois Policy Institute focused on the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity’s questionable grants, which range anywhere from giving money to help celebrate a Canadian 4th of July, increasing the awareness of Chicago and Illinois in Ireland, providing a fraternity with money to use solar power,...
by Kristina Rasmussen Feeling blue about state government? You’re not alone: CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois voters don’t have a lot of confidence in state government, and their outlook about the federal government isn’t much better. That’s according to a new Chicago Tribune/WGN-TV poll. The poll found that more than 6 in 10 of those surveyed lack confidence in...
by Amanda Griffin-Johnson According to a recent New York Times article, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago has been racking up some interesting credit card expenses in the past few years– all on the taxpayers’ dime. Expenses include travel to professional conferences, luxury hotel stays, a chartered evening cruise on the Chicago River, and...
by Kate Piercy The Illinois Policy Institute sent a Freedom of Information Request into the state asking for state employee salary information, and it came back with some puzzling data: Illinois taxpayers gave former governor Rod Blagojevich $28,880.07 in 2009. His “monthly salary” was $14,784.33, so it appears he received two months of pay in...
by Lee Williams Carl Lambrecht knew he might be arrested when walked into what he believes was a public meeting Tuesday night. Instead, he never got in the door. He believes he was excluded from the meeting by district officials, in order to keep details of a costly referendum from the public. Lambrecht, a 77-year-old...
by Kristina Rasmussen You’d think that keeping drunks out of their cars would be a good thing, right? The story of one Quincy resident’s struggle with authorities to provide free rides to the intoxicated is featured in Reason.tv’s latest “Nanny of the Month” episode. Our September 2009 interview with Jonathan Schoenakase provides the back story.
by Ashley Muchow Chicago mayor, Richard Daley has announced the Windy City will consider privatizing its recycling program and lakefront festivals to assist in closing the city’s budget deficit. Though a nominal amount compared to the state’s $13 billion budget deficit, Daley is determined to close the city’s $655 million budget hole without raising taxes. Following well known moves...
by Amanda Griffin-Johnson The Institute recently released “Spotlight on Spending #9: The State Un-Fair” reviewing the Illinois and DuQuoin State Fairs between fiscal year 2001 and fiscal year 2009. There has been some confusion about the paper, and we’d like to take a blog post to help clarify some of these questions. 1. “If you can...
by Will Compernolle The Department of Agriculture for the State of Illinois paid 11 meat and poultry inspector supervisors $616,597.87 in combined total wages in the fiscal year 2008. The average meat and poultry inspector supervisor was paid an annual salary of $56,054.35 with the highest salary being $61,633. The Illinois Department of Central Management Services website...
by Kate Piercy From S.T. Karnick at The American Culture: In case you missed it, LA Times reporters Jason Felch, Jason Song and Doug Smith used California’s public records law to obtain seven years of math and English test scores from the Los Angeles Unified School District. They asked Richard Buddin, a well-respected analyst at the RAND Corporation,...
The Problem Illinois’s dire fiscal situation continues to worsen year after year, and to turn this bad situation around it’s important to evaluate existing programs to ensure they’re necessary and effective. One such program that needs evaluation is the Environment and Nature Training Institute for Conservation Education (ENTICE) workshops from the Illinois Department of Natural...