Compass [Winter 2012]: Illinois labor law created union monster
Compass [Winter 2012]: Illinois labor law created union monster
Compass [Winter 2012] Illinois labor law created union monster
State Rep. LaShawn K. Ford has been indicted for bank fraud
State Rep. LaShawn K. Ford has been indicted for bank fraud
State Rep. LaShawn K. Ford, D-Chicago, of Illinois’ 8th District has become the most recent example of a steady stream of Illinois politicians caught with their hands in the cookie jar. According to the Chicago Sun-Times: “Ford, 40, of Chicago — who also invests in Chicago real estate — allegedly fraudulently obtained a $500,000 increase...
For entrepreneurs, the grass is greener … almost anywhere but Illinois
For entrepreneurs, the grass is greener … almost anywhere but Illinois
How do American entrepreneurs decide where to set up shop? Business creators look at indicators like corporate tax rates and the health of a state’s finances when determining the best location in which to take root. According to a survey published recently by Thumbtack.com and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Illinois isn’t quite cutting the mustard. On...
Forget reform: Illinois legislators want to borrow $4 billion
Forget reform: Illinois legislators want to borrow $4 billion
It was déjà vu in Springfield as proponents of more debt pushed Illinois to borrow another $4 billion from the bond market. Their promise? That the state’s backlog of bills would finally get paid down. This is exactly what we heard almost two years ago, when advocates of the massive $7 billion income tax increase...
Veto session: legislative update
Veto session: legislative update
Veto session commenced yesterday morning in Springfield. Typically, we would expect to see movement on controversial bills during this time because of the lame duck legislators who have been voted out of office but still retain voting power. However, impending Democratic supermajorities in both chambers of the Legislature means that we expect to see movement...
How teachers’ salary schedules make pay increases misleading
How teachers’ salary schedules make pay increases misleading
If you want to begin to understand what’s wrong with our current public school system, look no further than teachers’ salary schedules. Public school teachers unions across Illinois have clung to these outdated pay schemes, despite evidencethat shows salary schedules reward teachers for things that have little to do with improving student outcomes. Still, it is...
Education straitjacket: how teachers’ salary schedules limit meaningful reforms
Education straitjacket: how teachers’ salary schedules limit meaningful reforms
Like the school calendar, teachers’ salary schedules are a relic of the past. They were originally created in the 1920s to address the concerns of female elementary school teachers who thought that their secondary school counterparts – who were overwhelmingly male – were making more because of their gender. Now they are being used to...
Chicago bike-sharing program takes taxpayers for a ride
Chicago bike-sharing program takes taxpayers for a ride
I have fond memories of riding my mountain bike in the hills of Busse Woods as a child. My godfather, Sean Costin, is an experimental bike designer and has set world records in racing recumbent bicycles. I even continue to watch the Tour de France in the post-Lance Armstrong era. I love bikes. But my love for bikes...
Piglet: $200,000 for eco-friendly customized zip lines
Piglet: $200,000 for eco-friendly customized zip lines
Providing entertainment may seem like a far cry from an essential government service, but not in Illinois. The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) doles out hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars in grants each year. Funding entertainment is one of the many ways in which this money is used. The...
Illinois cannot afford a state-funded health insurance exchange
Illinois cannot afford a state-funded health insurance exchange
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or PPACA, permits but does not require states to establish new bureaucracies, known as health insurance exchanges, to regulate the purchase of government-approved health insurance from government-approved insurance companies. But whether the state decides to create its own exchange, defer to the federal government or create a state-federal...
Illinois Policy Institute influence leads to committee transparency reform
Illinois Policy Institute influence leads to committee transparency reform
In July 2012, the Illinois Policy Institute revealed research detailing the great lengths Illinoisans would have to take to find out how an elected official voted during committee. To find this information, they would either have: stream the committee online, attend the committee hearing or access committee transcripts, which are often published months after a committee was...
Pensions and the Civic Committee
Pensions and the Civic Committee
Illinois has a long history of fake reforms – legislative proposals that promise to solve the great policy challenges of the day when passed, but never actually accomplish these goals. There is perhaps no bigger fake reform than the 1995 pension ramp passed by the Republican-controlled General Assembly and signed into law by former Gov....
What you need to know about Quinn and AFSCME
What you need to know about Quinn and AFSCME
Q: I heard that Gov. Pat Quinn terminated the state’s contract with AFSCME. What just happened? A: The governor’s office announced that it was not going to continue to extend the contract with AFSCME Leadership Council 31. About 40,000 state employees that AFSCME represents are now working without a contract. Q: How did we get...
Illinois unemployment rate remains stagnant while neighboring states see improvement
Illinois unemployment rate remains stagnant while neighboring states see improvement
Illinois’ unemployment rate remained at a stagnant 8.8 percent in October, unchanged since September and still far above the national unemployment rate of 7.9 percent. Adding only a paltry 4,800 jobs last month, the state has been stuck in neutral, at best. Illinois’ neighbors, on the other hand, are watching their unemployment rates drop. They’re...