Voters reject school facility sales tax hikes in 11 counties
Voters reject school facility sales tax hikes in 11 counties
Counties across Illinois reject school facility sales tax hikes.
Metra begins transparency makeover with Illinois Policy Institutes help
Metra begins transparency makeover with Illinois Policy Institutes help
Institute works with Metra to improve government transparency as a way to increase accountability and to deter public corruption.
Preventable public corruption charges rock Dixon again
Preventable public corruption charges rock Dixon again
Corruption charges have rocked the city of Dixon once in the last year, but now a second scandal caused by a lack of online transparency has reared its ugly head.
Illinois Auditor General fraud hotline nets 65 tips
Illinois Auditor General fraud hotline nets 65 tips
In January 2012, the Illinois Auditor Generals office set up a fraud hotline to provide Illinoisans a way to sound the alarm on corruption. After all, Illinois is the third-most corrupt state in America.
Auditor’s report reveals disturbing accounting trends in Illinois public university system
Auditor’s report reveals disturbing accounting trends in Illinois public university system
the overall trend indicates that The Illinois public university system is getting worse in complying with state and federal laws, leaving the system vulnerable to future cases of public corruption.
Institute on ABC 20: Frivolous bills at the Illinois statehouse
Institute on ABC 20: Frivolous bills at the Illinois statehouse
Illinois Policy Institute Executive Vice President, Kristina Rasmussen, joined Andrew Hansen on ABC 20 to discuss frivolous bills at the Illinois statehouse. $17 million dollars is how much Gov. Pat Quinn says the state falls in the red each day without pension reform. While there has been progress on the issue, no bill has hit...
Institute on WCIA 3: Grant monitoring virtually non-existent
Institute on WCIA 3: Grant monitoring virtually non-existent
Illinois Policy Institute Executive Vice President, Kristina Rasmussen, joined WCIA-3‘s Steve Staeger to discuss the lack of grant monitoring in Illinois. Almost half the state’s budget goes to grants. Some go to smaller government bodies, others to non-profits. The money is supposed to be spent on good causes, things to help people. But, in recent...
Blagojevich hits one-year mark in prison – has anything changed?
Blagojevich hits one-year mark in prison – has anything changed?
March 15, the ides of March, is the one-year anniversary of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich heading to prison. At the time of his conviction Illinois Policy Institute CEO John Tillman hailed the Blagojevich verdict as an opportunity to end an era of corruption in Illinois. “This trial represented what is the absolute worst of...
38 Illinois agencies recognized for Sunshine Week
38 Illinois agencies recognized for Sunshine Week
Illinois has a serious corruption problem. Illinois is ranked as the third-most corrupt state in the country. When it comes to fighting corruption, proactive online transparency is one of the greatest tools a local government agency can implement. It’s also an essential tool to educate and engage citizens to participate fully in the democratic process. During Sunshine Week...
Voting board members given 30 minutes to analyze Hinsdale teachers’ contract
Voting board members given 30 minutes to analyze Hinsdale teachers’ contract
In January, I wrote about my ordeal in obtaining my local school district’s collective bargaining agreement. The public, including taxpayers like me, wasn’t allowed to examine the new teachers’ contract until 38 days after the contract was approved by the board. Once I finally got ahold of the contract I found out the teacher salary raises were...
The city of Chicago takes a shot at energy drinks
The city of Chicago takes a shot at energy drinks
What do elected officials of the nation’s third-largest city do when only four out of every 10 kids who start freshman year at a public high school graduate and only six out of every 100 freshmen go on to get four-year college degrees? What else would such officials have to do when murders in this city...
Illinois good government bills watch list
Illinois good government bills watch list
The 2013 legislative session is in full swing and there are a number of good government reform bills that have been introduced by legislators of both parties. While much of the focus in the media and at the Illinois Policy Institute is rightly on big-dollar issues such as pension and Medicaid reform, there are many other issues...
From Dixon to Springfield: freshman state representative fights public corruption
From Dixon to Springfield: freshman state representative fights public corruption
State Rep. Tom Demmer, R-Dixon, is a freshman state legislator from the home of the infamous Rita Crundwell, the former Dixon Comptroller.
Northern Illinois University VP with $196K salary steals scrap metal, gets slap on the wrist
Northern Illinois University VP with $196K salary steals scrap metal, gets slap on the wrist
With the downturn in the economy, youll occasionally hear stories about thieves who steal public property such as manhole covers and sell the materials to scrap yards.