“Imagine for a moment that your father, brother or husband had prostate cancer. That is bad enough, of course, but now imagine that they had to unnecessarily wait in long lines to get the most advanced and least invasive treatment possible, or perhaps, not receive this better treatment at all. Or imagine it is your...
In 2008, the Illinois Dept. of State Police paid 3,520 employees a total of $266,671,219 in wages, which is fourth highest among all departments. What is more interesting is that 730 employees made over $100,000, which is 20.7% of its employees. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the mean wage for state police and sheriff...
The Problem Witnessing explosions from the latest Transformers movie on Michigan Avenue and catching glimpses of movie stars like Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie may provide an exciting novelty for Illinois residents. But is it worth the price? Illinois state government offers film production projects generous tax incentives to film within its borders, but the...
by Kristina Rasmussen We’ve written about the cost of the Governor’s entourage (you know, your standard retinue of butlers, housemen, and laundresses). Today’s State Journal-Register features a thoughtful letter to the editor on closing the Executive Mansion down as a residence for the governor: In times of economic distress, tough choices have to be made. A family might decide to forego a...
by Kate Piercy According to a report from the Chicago Tribune, “the attorney at the center of a long-running lawsuit,” Michael Shakman, told a federal judge Thursday that since the start of 2008, Cook County Board President Todd Stroger violated a ban on political hiring more than 150 times: Stroger’s administration altered the list of jobs not covered...
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.