Illinois has nearly 7,000 units of local governments
Illinois has nearly 7,000 units of local governments
Illinois has more units of local government than any other state in the nation.
Naperville considers pension double-dipping transparency reform
Naperville considers pension double-dipping transparency reform
Most public employees in Illinois receive a single pension upon retirement. But some workers don’t just get one pension – they get two or three. This is made possible by either working multiple government jobs at the same time, or retiring from one public job and beginning a second within a different pension system. Both...
Illinois General Assembly ignores citizens on term limits
Illinois General Assembly ignores citizens on term limits
“It is a safe bet that the General Assembly will never pass a bill limiting its own members’ ability to seek re-election.” – Christopher Mooney, University of Illinois Springfield professor, term-limits expert Overwhelmingly, Illinoisans support term limits. A recent poll showed 78.7 percent of Illinois voters support term limits. But good luck convincing Illinois legislators...
The Local Transparency Project
The Local Transparency Project
The Local Transparency Project is an encouraging example of a successful grassroots effort and a great resource for citizen activists looking to organize and mobilize.– Sunlight Foundation For democracy to work citizens need access to the information about what government does. Proactive online transparency is the best way to give citizens the opportunity to be educated...
Shrinking the Illinois Senate
Shrinking the Illinois Senate
With 42,336 elected officials as of 1992, Illinois has nearly 12,000 more state and local elected politicians than any other state. Amazingly, with this unprecedented wealth of legislators Illinois hasn’t been able to adequately address some of its most dire problems. Illinois still ranks near the bottom of the nation in numerous key economic indicators,...
Pay to stay
Pay to stay
Earlier this year Texas Gov. Rick Perry wrote a letter to Illinois’ businesses and individuals trying to sell them on a move to Texas. The sales pitch was simple — it wasn’t tax credits, grants or sweetheart deals. The sales pitch was this — Texas doesn’t have an income tax. Perry understands something that Illinois...
Federal agencies stage fake “shutdown” of websites
Federal agencies stage fake “shutdown” of websites
This morning we began to notice that a number of Federal agencies have “shutdown” their websites. We put that shut down in quotes because the websites aren’t really shutdown. In reality, federal agencies have “shutdown” websites while keeping them online to say they are “shutdown”. For example, here’s the page you will see when you...
As usual, politicians win, taxpayers lose in legislator pay lawsuit
As usual, politicians win, taxpayers lose in legislator pay lawsuit
In July, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn used his line-item veto power to suspend legislators’ salaries, pledging to withhold legislators’ paychecks until they solved the state’s pension problem. But just Thursday, Cook County Circuit Court Judge Neil H. Cohen ruled that Quinn’s move was unconstitutional. Article IV, Section 11, of the Illinois Constitution prohibits any “changes” to...
Corruption-fighting inspector general sharing program comes to Cook County
Corruption-fighting inspector general sharing program comes to Cook County
An inspector general investigates allegations of fraud, waste, abuse, mismanagement, misconduct and related violations of the law involving individuals employed by or doing business with a government agency. With Illinois’ long history of corruption, inspector generals are one of the most important public servants who help make sure taxpayer dollars are being spent appropriately. Unfortunately,...
Term limits puts career politicians and lobbyists on notice
Term limits puts career politicians and lobbyists on notice
Despite their rationale, critics who oppose term limits are siding with the status quo, which not only keeps intact all-powerful political dynasties but also preserves special-interest lobbyists’ relationships with legislators. Christopher Mooney is one such critic, as he made clear in his recent anti-term limits editorial in Crain’s Chicago Business. By opposing term limits, Mooney isn’t...
Term-limits referendums are overwhelmingly successful
Term-limits referendums are overwhelmingly successful
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...
Chicago gives Whole Foods $10M tax incentive
Chicago gives Whole Foods $10M tax incentive
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...
Chicago only major U.S. city without term limits; Illinois one of 11 states without term limits
Chicago only major U.S. city without term limits; Illinois one of 11 states without term limits
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...
Illinois and Chicago’s pattern of cronyism and corporate handouts
Illinois and Chicago’s pattern of cronyism and corporate handouts
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...