Half of Illinois Medicaid enrollees reviewed found ineligible
Half of Illinois Medicaid enrollees reviewed found ineligible
In January, the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, or HFS, began a new project verifying eligibility for Illinois’ 2.7 million Medicaid enrollees. For years, state workers had failed to take adequate steps to ensure the people receiving Medicaid benefits were actually eligible for the program. As an Auditor General report noted, state workers failed to...
By Jonathan Ingram
Chicago Tribune calls for honesty in college-readiness standards
Chicago Tribune calls for honesty in college-readiness standards
The Chicago Tribune is calling on the state to be honest about how well its students are performing academically: “Illinois has a track record of massaging its school performance numbers to mask reality and make everybody feel good. Last year, 849 schools could boast that 90 percent or more of their students passed statewide reading...
Parks and wreck
Parks and wreck
The Illinois General Assembly today approved a pension bill that requires taxpayers to pay an additional $75 million into the Chicago Park District pension fund in addition to tripling the taxpayer contribution to the troubled pension fund. Unfortunately, this bill is mistakenly being heralded by some as a potential model for pension reform. Make no mistake:...
By Ted Dabrowski
Chicago Park District total debt exceeds $1.4 billion
Chicago Park District total debt exceeds $1.4 billion
Chicago Park District total debt: $1.4 billion The Chicago Park District is responsible for overseeing museums, beaches, parks, pools and other attractions. Chicago Park District has an annual operating budget of $410.9 million and employs approximately 3,000 workers. Chicago Park District’s debt burden totals more than $1.6 billion, including debt, health insurance and pension liabilities....
By Benjamin VanMetre
Obama administration throws unions a bone in form of ObamaCare tax break
Obama administration throws unions a bone in form of ObamaCare tax break
The Obama administration is throwing unions a bone on ObamaCare in the form of “tax break.” But if union officials are smart, they’ll throw it back. NPR is reporting that the administration is offering unions some relief from one of the many problematic features of the health care law. The proposal is to terminate a...
By Paul Kersey
It’s time to stop misleading parents about the quality of Illinois schools
It’s time to stop misleading parents about the quality of Illinois schools
State government officials, district administrators and union bosses have been actively misleading parents about the quality of Illinois’ elementary schools for years. New Illinois Standard Achievement Test, or ISAT, scores released last week by the Illinois State Board of Education, or ISBE, prove as much. In fact, most schools across the state experienced significant drops...
Colorado voters defeat a progressive income tax hike
Colorado voters defeat a progressive income tax hike
On Nov. 5, Colorado voters defeated a progressive income tax increase by a two-to-one margin — more than 66 percent of the voters said no to higher taxes. Colorado’s Amendment 66 was a ballot initiative to swap out the state’s competitive flat rate income tax for a progressive income tax increase. Specifically, lawmakers wanted to...
By Benjamin VanMetre
School district salaries left out of Illinois school report cards
School district salaries left out of Illinois school report cards
The Illinois General Assembly may consider much needed pension reform during the second week of fall veto session, which lasts Nov. 5 until Nov. 7. But they will have to do so without the latest teacher and administrator salary information affecting the state’s largest pension system, the Teachers’ Retirement System, or TRS. Last week the...
By Brian Costin
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...
By Brian Costin
Decline in food stamp benefits no excuse for losing focus on job creation
Decline in food stamp benefits no excuse for losing focus on job creation
This month, the more than 2 million Illinoisans currently enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, will see a cut to their monthly food stamp benefits. An Illinois family of three will see their benefits decrease about $29. Currently, the average Illinois household receives $285 a month in benefits. The cut in benefits is due...
By John Klingner
More than 200K Illinois Medicaid enrollees found ineligible for the program
More than 200K Illinois Medicaid enrollees found ineligible for the program
In January, the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, or HFS, began a new project verifying eligibility for Illinois’ 2.7 million Medicaid enrollees. For years, state workers had failed to take adequate steps to ensure the people receiving Medicaid benefits were actually eligible for the program. As an Auditor General report noted, state workers failed to...
By Jonathan Ingram
Unionization more prevalent in government than private sector
Unionization more prevalent in government than private sector
One of the biggest changes in the union movement has happened mostly under the radar, but it has big consequences for union officials, workers and the public at large. Unions used to be powerful in the private sector. But now, most union workers nationwide are government employees. It has been this way since 2009. Since...
By Paul Kersey
Illinois pensions need to become more transparent
Illinois pensions need to become more transparent
The history of state government pensions in Illinois is fairly simple. Politicians discover that pension funds are running a deficit. Those same politicians develop a plan to eliminate the deficit, which typically involves Illinois taxpayers putting in more money. Taxpayers pony up the funds. The deficit, somehow, gets worse. In 1994, the five state-run pension...
By Paul Kersey
Taxing bodies powerless to stop Schaumburg TIF, property tax increases
Taxing bodies powerless to stop Schaumburg TIF, property tax increases
Village officials in Schaumburg are pushing for $512 million in new property taxes via a Tax Increment Financing, or TIF, district. The taxes would be used to create an entertainment district north of Woodfield Mall. But it’s not just people who pay property taxes in Schaumburg who would foot the bill. TIF districts cause property...
By Brian Costin