ObamaCare: The national punch line
ObamaCare: The national punch line
Comedian Jon Stewart ranted recently that there are more people who believe that ObamaCare was repealed than who have signed up for it. The president’s signature achievement is now a national punch line. The federal ObamaCare health insurance exchange website, healthcare.gov, has been plagued with problems since it was unveiled on Oct. 1. Many have...
By Naomi Lopez Bauman
2014 Chicago budget includes tax increases, no pension solutions
2014 Chicago budget includes tax increases, no pension solutions
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel released today his 2014 plan to close the city’s looming $338.7 million budget gap. His proposal is heavy on tax hikes and short on solutions. The mayor vowed not to close the budget gap with higher property taxes this year. Instead, the plan is to nickel and dime Chicagoans with tax...
By Benjamin VanMetre
11.3 million Americans remained unemployed in September
11.3 million Americans remained unemployed in September
After nearly a month’s delay due to the federal government’s shutdown, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced yesterday that the national unemployment rate edged down in September to 7.2 percent from 7.3 percent one month earlier. Overall, 11.3 million Americans remain unemployed. The U-6 unemployment rate, which includes all workers who are unemployed or underemployed,...
By John Klingner
1 in 6 Illinoisans dependent on food stamps
1 in 6 Illinoisans dependent on food stamps
The number of Illinoisans enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, remained above 2 million in July. This is the 10th month in a row enrollment has exceeded 2 million, or one-sixth of Illinoisans. And the number of Illinoisans who seem permanently stuck on government assistance is growing larger. Illinois puts more people...
By John Klingner
Flat is Fair
Flat is Fair
State Rep. Naomi Jakobsson, D-Urbana, recently revealed a new progressive tax proposal with rates that hit Illinois’ middle and working classes hard. Under current Illinois law, the individual income tax rate will be 3.75 percent in 2015. Under Jakobsson’s new plan, however, a higher 4 percent rate kicks in for people earning just $18,000. That income tax...
By Benjamin VanMetre
UPDATE—Judge allows suit challenging ObamaCare subsidies
UPDATE—Judge allows suit challenging ObamaCare subsidies
While the media and public are focused on the calamitous ObamaCare rollout and glitch-ridden health exchange websites, several court cases challenging the Affordable Care Act, or ACA, are working their way through the courts. Today, one of those cases could deal ObamaCare a severe legal blow. Judge Paul Friedman of the federal district court for...
By Naomi Lopez Bauman
Veto session at a glance
Veto session at a glance
Today marks the first day of the Illinois General Assembly’s two week veto session. Veto session is held for six days every fall to allow the General Assembly to take action on bills that the governor has vetoed. Since the spring legislative session, the governor has vetoed 10 bills – only three of those bills...
By Matt Paprocki
Illinois’ unemployment rate stalled at 9.2 percent
Illinois’ unemployment rate stalled at 9.2 percent
The delay in unemployment reports due to the federal government shutdown has not changed Illinois’ overall gloomy jobs picture. Unemployment is still high in many cities across the state. According to the latest seasonally adjusted unemployment numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, half of Illinois’ Metropolitan Statistical Areas, or MSAs, had unemployment rates...
By John Klingner
ObamaCare triage
ObamaCare triage
The Obama administration has emerged from its bunker and is now in full-fledge campaign mode on ObamaCare after the recently unveiled online enrollment system has encountered numerous glitches and low sign-up rates. The most revealing thing about President Barack Obama’s Rose Garden speech this morning is that – after a calamitous roll-out – he never...
By Naomi Lopez Bauman
Emanuel pushes $0.75 cigarette tax hike for Chicago
Emanuel pushes $0.75 cigarette tax hike for Chicago
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel plans to increase the cigarette tax in Chicago by 75 cents per pack. The tax hike would increase the per-pack total to $7.42 — making Chicago the most expensive city in the nation in which to buy a pack of cigarettes. This tax hike is one of the plans Emanuel is considering to...
By Benjamin VanMetre
Illinois Supreme Court strikes down Illinois ‘Amazon Tax’
Illinois Supreme Court strikes down Illinois ‘Amazon Tax’
The Illinois Supreme Court today struck down the state’s “Amazon Tax,” a state law that forced online retailers to pay Illinois taxes regardless of whether they had a storefront or other physical presence in the state. In its ruling, the Supreme Court indicated that it struck down the law because it conflicts with a federal...
Illinois lawmakers who have signed anti-progressive tax resolution
Illinois lawmakers who have signed anti-progressive tax resolution
As the Illinois General Assembly heads back to Springfield for veto session next week, here is a quick look at what elected officials have signed on to the Illinois Policy Institute’s legislative efforts to prevent lawmakers from amending the state’s constitution to permit a progressive income tax hike, which would increase taxes on 85 percent...
By Jane McEnaney
New Chicago Public Schools promotion policy moves students ahead, but leaves them behind
New Chicago Public Schools promotion policy moves students ahead, but leaves them behind
Every year, thousands of struggling Chicago Public School, or CPS, students are sent on to the next grade despite the fact that administrators and teachers know they aren’t ready – and they are destined to fall further behind. Research shows that promoting students before they are ready can have devastating long-term effects. In fact, unprepared...