Most Voters Oppose the Reelection of Anyone Who Voted for Health Care Law, Auto Bailouts, Stimulus Plan
Most Voters Oppose the Reelection of Anyone Who Voted for Health Care Law, Auto Bailouts, Stimulus Plan
by Kate Piercy A recent Rasmussen poll sounds the alarm to incumbents: The major votes you’ve cast in Congress over the past couple years appear likely to come back to haunt you this Election Day. A national telephone survey found most Likely Voters think their representative in Congress does not deserve reelection if he or she...
Job Creation Since 2000
Job Creation Since 2000
by Kate Piercy Senior Research Fellow Veronique de Rugy of the Mercatus Center uses data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to compare net job creation since 2000. Check out the chart below.
Great Depression…I Mean, Recession.
Great Depression…I Mean, Recession.
by Ashley Muchow Depression. Great Recession. Trough. We’ve heard it all in reference to the struggling state of the U.S. economy. President Barack Obama has insisted his policy moves and $787 billion-plus spending initiatives staved off a second Great Depression. The National Bureau of Economic Research declared late last month that the recession ended in June of 2009, after less...
Cartoon Blogging – Quinn reviving Illinois
Cartoon Blogging – Quinn reviving Illinois
by Ashley Muchow Check out this cartoon from Scott Stantis of the Chicago Tribune illustrating Quinn’s far-fetched claims to revive Illinois. Shouldn’t rescue consist of less digging?
Private Employment Bearing the Brunt of the Burden
Private Employment Bearing the Brunt of the Burden
by Ashley Muchow The Mercatus Center released a longitudinal illustration of the changes in employment from 2001 to 2009. In 2009, private sector employment undoubtedly got the short end of the stick–losing nearly 6 million jobs, while government and federal employment numbers managed to increase. Now we all know the economy has been hit hard in recent years and...
$40K for Façade Improvements
$40K for Façade Improvements
by Amanda Griffin-Johnson Between September 2008 and August 2010, the Spoon River Partnership for Economic Development in Canton, Illinois received a $40,000 grant as part of the Grant Management Program. This program allows the General Assembly and the Governor to give “grants to specific local governments, units of government, educational facilities and not-for-profit organizations…for specific purposes to bolster the State’s economy,...
Taxpayers Paying for New Model of Chicago
Taxpayers Paying for New Model of Chicago
by Wesley Fox In 2008, the Chicago Architecture Foundation was awarded a $100,000 grant from the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to “assist in the development of the 2008-2009 Special Exhibitions.” According to the DCEO Grant Tracker (Under “Search Grants by Organization” search Chicago Architecture Foundation, Grant #09-335008), the Special Exhibitions will feature a “state-of-the-art scale model...
Chicago Officials Circumvent Competitive Bidding Rules
Chicago Officials Circumvent Competitive Bidding Rules
by Amanda Griffin-Johnson Competitive bidding rules help governments save money, increase transparency, and avoid “pay-to-play” politics. Unfortunately, government officials don’t always play by the rules. The Chicago Tribune reports: City officials circumvented competitive bidding rules to steer a $23 million digital-radio contract to Schaumburg-based Motorola, according to City Hall’s top watchdog and documents obtained by the Tribune. Inspector General...
Judges Still Silent
Judges Still Silent
The silence continues. Illinois judges and organizations who represent the state’s judiciary are still refusing to comment about their skyrocketing salaries and perks revealed last week with the publication of the Institute’s special report:Judicial Pay and Perks in the Prairie State. Calls and e-mails seeking comment placed this week to individual jurists, the Illinois Judges...
The Freshman Four Hundred Million
The Freshman Four Hundred Million
by Collin Hitt You’ve heard of losing the Freshman Fifteen. But can Illinois colleges trim fat, too, by lowering their freshman dropout rates? The American Institutes of Research has published a new report estimating the Illinois taxpayers spent almost $400 million on college costs for students who never made it to sophomore year ($300 of that was...
Find the Government Worker
Find the Government Worker
This editorial cartoon from the USA Today in 2009 reminded me of current day Illinois. Tough times for everyone, except for those who work for the government. Recently, Gov. Quinn signed a contract handing out 7 percent pay raises, a two-year “no layoff” guarantee, a pledge to close no branches, plus another round of...
Sen. Millner and Rep. Kosel Sign Tax Pledge
Sen. Millner and Rep. Kosel Sign Tax Pledge
The Illinois Honest Tax Pledge has two more signers: Senator John Millner(R-Bloomingdale) and Representative Renee Kosel (R-Mokena). The pledge asks incumbents pledge to oppose and vote against all tax hikes through the start of the 97th Session of the General Assembly in 2011. Previously, David Vaught the Illinois Budget Director was quoted as saying, “We’re going to pass a tax...
Detroit’s Train to Nowhere?
Detroit’s Train to Nowhere?
by Amanda Griffin-Johnson According the 2010 ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index, Michigan ranks 50th for economic performance, 50th for personal income growth per capital, and 50th for job growth. Detroit has lost half of it’s population since 1950 and was the 2009 “murder capital.” Is this the time or place for new light rail construction? From Reason.tv: The Motor City...