Illinois’ comeback story starts here.

Out Of Control: The Explosion of Illinois State Government Spending

Out Of Control: The Explosion of Illinois State Government Spending

The Problem State spending in Illinois has skyrocketed over the past decade, increasing 39 percent from 1998 to 2008 (after inflation). “Appropriated Funds Expenditures” include general, highway, special state, bond financed, debt service, federal trust, revolving funds, and state trust funds. Illinois’s population growth has been minimal, increasing just under 7 percent between 1998 and...

By Chris Andriesen

Not What the Doctor Ordered

Not What the Doctor Ordered

Imagine going to the doctor for a chronic headache and frequent blackouts. The doctor tells you to see a specialist – who you can’t see for another 17 weeks. After seeing the specialist, you must wait 4 weeks for an MRI. Finally, doctors discover a cyst in your brain, but the treatment you need isn’t...

By Chris Andriesen

Putting the “Laboratory of the States” to Work in Illinois

Putting the “Laboratory of the States” to Work in Illinois

“The way to get good ideas is to get lots of ideas, and throw the bad ones away.” So said Linus Pauling, the two-time Nobel Prize winner for chemistry. A lot of ideas have been suggested to solve Illinois’s budget shortfall, and it’s time to separate the good from the bad. According to the National...

By Chris Andriesen

Cook County Key Facts

Cook County Key Facts

The Problem Cook County is the largest county in Illinois, with a population of 5,294,664 (41% of Illinois’s 12,901,563 residents). However, between April 2000 and July 2008, its population declined at a rate of -1.5%, while the rest of Illinois grew by 3.9%. Why is everyone leaving? Highest Taxes. Within Chicago and Cook County, the...

By Chris Andriesen

Taking Illinoisans for a Ride – High-Speed Rail

Taking Illinoisans for a Ride – High-Speed Rail

The Problem Would you pay $1,000 so that someone–probably not you–could ride high-speed trains less than 60 miles a year? Probably not. Yet, that’s what the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) high-speed rail plan is going to cost: at least $90 billion, or $1,000 for every federal income taxpayer in the country. Who will ride these...

By Chris Andriesen

Opening the Door to Better Schools

Opening the Door to Better Schools

The Problem Hundreds of communities and neighborhoods throughout Illinois are badly in need of better schools. In those communities it should be a realistic option for innovative educators to create new school choices for students and their families. The past fifteen years have witnessed the creation and spread of a new kind of public school:...

By Collin Hitt

Ten Ways to Balance the Budget Without Tax Hikes

Ten Ways to Balance the Budget Without Tax Hikes

Governor Pat Quinn claims that $3.2 billion in new personal and corporate income tax receipts are necessary to put Illinois’s budget back in the black. In a down economy, however, the last thing that families and businesses need to worry about is the dangling noose of higher taxes. The Illinois Policy Institute recently released an...

By Chris Andriesen

Illinois Budget Facts

Illinois Budget Facts

The Problem • State spending in Illinois has skyrocketed over the past decade, increasing 39% after inflation per capita since 1998. Meanwhile, population has only grown 6.8%. • In 1998, state spending per citizen was $3500. Ten years later, state spending per citizen was $4600 (inflation adjusted). • Overall, the state budget has ballooned from...

By Chris Andriesen

Chicago Students Prove They Can Compete… If Given a Chance

Chicago Students Prove They Can Compete… If Given a Chance

The Problem What would you do if your children could be on a championship-level team…but they weren’t allowed to try out? Every day, Chicago kids prove they can compete. All they need is the opportunity. Tragically, thousands of children are not given a chance to “try out” for better schools. They are locked into continually...

By Collin Hitt

Charter schools rival top state graduation rates; offer chance to fix Chicago Public Schools

Charter schools rival top state graduation rates; offer chance to fix Chicago Public Schools

Thousands of children in Chicago are not given a chance to “try out” for better schools. They are locked into continually failing schools with low graduation rates, largely because Illinois lawmakers will not remove the arbitrary cap placed on the number of charter schools in the state. However, urban charter school graduation rate rival the...

By Collin Hitt

Doing Well By Doing Good: Cost-cutting reforms for Illinois

Doing Well By Doing Good: Cost-cutting reforms for Illinois

The Problem Budgeting and ethics problems continue to compound in Illinois. The state’s budget deficit tops $9 billion, spending continues to surge, and there is little to no transparency as to where—and to whom—tax dollars are going. This must be checked and stopped. Our Solution Implementing statewide transparency and creating a Council on Efficient Government...

By Kate Campaigne Piercy

Government Goes On A Diet: Designing a sensible expenditure limit for Illinois

Government Goes On A Diet: Designing a sensible expenditure limit for Illinois

Government has become a glutton. In Illinois, a voracious appetite for more spending has led the state budget to balloon from $24.7 billion in 2004 to $32.2 billion in 2009 – an increase of nearly 30 percent over just five years. It’s time to put government on a diet. A sensible expenditure limit would ensure...

By Chris Andriesen

You Spent My Tax Dollars on What??

You Spent My Tax Dollars on What??

While families and private businesses balance their budget in tight economic times, the government continues with its extravagant spending. Deficits don’t appear out of nowhere, especially not with our state’s irresponsible spending habits. When it comes to balancing the budget in hard times, every little bit counts.  This report presents some silly spending and wasteful programs funded...

By Chris Andriesen

Unsung Heroes: Charter Schools

Unsung Heroes: Charter Schools

The Issue Throughout Illinois, a new kind of public school has emerged: charter schools. The “charter school movement,” as it has been called, has been a success in Illinois.  Studies have consistently shown that charter schools routinely perform above the norm at comparable district schools.  To date, however, most of these studies of school performance...

By Collin Hitt

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