Guest post by Peter Breen The number one issue for folks in my recent campaign for Lombard village trustee was holding the line on taxes and spending. After I won the race and was sworn in, I realized the practical difficulty of a part-time member of a village board having to watch over a roughly...
Introduction Policy changes lives. Legislation that lowers the cost of living and doing business in Illinois makes life better across the state. Legislation that gives children better educational opportunities can transform the futures of families and communities. But legislation that increases taxes, drives up public debt or limits economic opportunity can destroy a family’s dream,...
The Illinois Policy Institute recently completed aAi??local government transparency projectAi??focused on government units in McLean County, Illinois. The results range from high scores of 87.5 to a low score of 5.625. To see how the scores breakdown,Ai??click here for the full scorecard Paroxetine withdrawal treatment Ai??or see the table below. Bloomington Public School District 87Ai??andAi??McLean...
by Mark Cavers The Village of Orland Park scored a perfect 100% on a local government transparency audit conducted by the Illinois Policy Institute last week. Under the proactive leadership of Mayor Dan McLaughlin, Trustee Jim Dodge, Village Manager Paul Grimes, Deputy Clerk Joe La Margo and Senior Secretary Nancy Melinauskas, the Village of Orland Park became the first...
by Emily Dietrich This year Illinois lawmakers spiked taxes on employees and employers alike. But when big businesses threatened to move to other states in response to the higher taxes, Illinois politicians rushed in and offered tax cuts and other incentives. Companies like Motorola and Caterpillar were saved. But what’s the real story behind the tax increases?...
Over the past three months, the Illinois Policy Institute has been working with 16 government entities in Lyons Township to the implement transparency best-practices as part of our local government transparency project. The Institute just completed a second round of audits on the local governments; this is an important benchmark for checking progress. You can see the...
by Mark Cavers Over the past three months, the Illinois Policy Institute has been working with 16 government entities in Lyons Township to the implement transparency best-practices as part of our local government transparency project. The Institute just completed a second round of audits on the local governments; this is an important benchmark for checking progress. You...
by Mark Cavers Last week, Governor Quinn signed into law the Tax Disclosure Act, which instructs the Department of Revenue to provide information on all state and local taxes in a single, central online database. Under this law, citizens will be able to see every tax they pay with just a few clicks of the mouse....
by Aon Hussain Earlier this year, the Texas Transportation Institute measured traffic congestion across America. Their results found that Chicago has the most debilitating amount of traffic congestion in the entire country. The problem isn’t just local. In total, congestion cost the entire country almost $115 billion, forced travelers to sit behind the wheel 4.8 billion hours...
by Mark Cavers The Chicago Tribune reports that the City of Chicago has made progress in reigning in a traffic control aide program that is costing the city millions: “Fewer traffic control aides will be posted at downtown intersections during rush hour after the city laid off about half of Chicago’s full-time brigade to save money.”...
by Alex Miller Representative Jack Franks, D-Woodstock, took the House floor on Wednesday, fervently criticizing the lofty tax exemptions that Governor Quinn has granted to large corporations who have threatened to leave the state due to Illinois’s poor economic outlook. Franks insisted that he could not, in good conscience, watch so many millions fly into the hands of...
by Mark Cavers On Monday, the Chicago Tribune ran a story on the thousands of taxing districts and government bodies that are scattered across Illinois: “Illinois has the most units of government in the nation, and the Tribune acquired and combed through a list of each one — nearly 8,500 by the state comptroller’s count, from well-known...
CHICAGO (June 15, 2011) — The city of Evanston scored the highest of five Evanston-area governments in the latest leg of the Illinois Policy Institute’s “Local Transparency Project,” which grades governments on the availability to the public of vital community information. The city earned a score of 91.7 out of 100 possible points for making...
by Kristina Rasmussen PETA sent Gov. Quinn a letter echoing our request that he veto funding for the state’s Urban Fishing Program: I am writing on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and our more than 2 million members and supporters, including thousands across Illinois, to respectfully urge you to end state funding for the Illinois...