Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) cited estimates that the federal stimulus would save/create 148,000 Illinois jobs. That's hardly been the case, as it turns out.
Promises of televised health care negotiations...
The Department of Employment Security has spent more then $3,000 on glue sticks over the past 2 years.
Those of us opposed to the health care
Could the mixture of Illinois's new capital building program and a lack of operating funds leave us with new -- but empty -- state facilities?
The Cato Institute takes a closer look at the generous wages and benefits offered by state and local governments.
In 2008, the state spent more than $8,000 on calendars. How much will it spend in 2010?
The state legislature pads local government pension benefits, and taxpayers get to pony up the money to pay for it.
Which departments had the highest average wages in 2008? Find out here.
Using our transparency website, IllinoisOpenGov.org, you can find out which departments spent the most on wagesvin 2008.
The Problem During these trying fiscal times, many school districts are attempting to find ways to become more efficient. Private firms are able to assist in this goal, while often improving the quality of certain services. For example, support service providers can offer more efficient busing or cafeteria services, and instructional service providers can offer...
The Problem Tuition at Illinois’s state universities is becoming less affordable for Illinois families. From 2002 to 2007, in-state tuition and fees jumped by an average of 56 percent, with no campus increasing rates by less than 42 percent and two campuses increasing rates by more than 70 percent [in inflation-adjusted dollars]. In just five...
The Problem Illinois’s Limited English Proficient (LEP) and Hispanic students will play a major role in determining the state’s economic future. Unfortunately, these two critical groups of students have remained among the lowest-performing in our schools. This is especially the case in Chicago Public Schools, where the problem is exacerbated by the fact that thousands...
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, kids from many of Illinois’s roughest communities prove they can compete in the classroom. All they need is the opportunity—an opportunity often provided by charter schools. Tragically, thousands of children are not...