Charter school waiting lists: the other side of the story
Charter school waiting lists: the other side of the story
WBEZ in Chicago has published one of the more incomplete stories on charter schools Ive read in a long time. It asserts: Charter advocates and even the Chicago Tribune editorial board say 19,000 kids are on charter school waiting lists in the city.
The Stockton crystal ball: what a pension guarantee will do to Illinois
The Stockton crystal ball: what a pension guarantee will do to Illinois
With nearly 300,000 residents, Stockton is the largest city in the United States to declare bankruptcy. It is also one of several California cities to file for bankruptcy due to the recession and skyrocketing government worker pension costs.
MEDIA ALERT: Liberty Justice Center files lawsuit in dispute over Macomb aldermanic race
MEDIA ALERT: Liberty Justice Center files lawsuit in dispute over Macomb aldermanic race
MEDIA ALERT from the LIBERTY JUSTICE CENTER Media contact: Diana Rickert 312-607-4977 Case documents available online at: libertyjusticecenter.org Liberty Justice Center files lawsuit in dispute over Macomb aldermanic race Hearing scheduled for 9 a.m. Thursday, April 4 MACOMB, IL (April 2, 2013) The Liberty Justice Center, a nonpartisan public interest litigation center started by...
Reporter posts footage of CTU school closing rally showing aggressive union behavior
Reporter posts footage of CTU school closing rally showing aggressive union behavior
When Jeremy Segal attempted to approach CTU President Karen Lewis and activist Jesse Jackson to ask about radical groups that were present at the rally, union members and officials blocked the correspondent off and forced him away.
Illinois districts with property tax caps reap extra education dollars
Illinois districts with property tax caps reap extra education dollars
Back-door school subsidies
When it comes to freedom, Illinois comes up short
When it comes to freedom, Illinois comes up short
The Mercatus Center, which conducts market-oriented research at George Mason University, released a study ranking the 50 states based on whether or not government polices promote fiscal and personal freedoms.
Illinois one of only two states contracting
Illinois one of only two states contracting
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia announced that Illinois is one of two states that experienced economic decline during the past three months
Institute in Chicago Tribune: Modernizing Illinois’ tax system
Institute in Chicago Tribune: Modernizing Illinois’ tax system
The Chicago Tribune published the following letter to the editor from the Institute's senior budget and tax analyst, Ben VanMetre.
Michigan union officials opt to dump pensions to keep collecting mandatory dues
Michigan union officials opt to dump pensions to keep collecting mandatory dues
For union officials, self-preservation and the desire to avoid accountability to workers trumps their desire to maintain defined benefit pensions; they were willing to dump those pensions to continue mandatory dues.
Institute on ABC 20: Frivolous bills at the Illinois statehouse
Institute on ABC 20: Frivolous bills at the Illinois statehouse
Illinois Policy Institute Executive Vice President, Kristina Rasmussen, joined Andrew Hansen on ABC 20 to discuss frivolous bills at the Illinois statehouse. $17 million dollars is how much Gov. Pat Quinn says the state falls in the red each day without pension reform. While there has been progress on the issue, no bill has hit...
The battle for Right to Work is a marathon, not a sprint
The battle for Right to Work is a marathon, not a sprint
Labor unions have a virtual lock on Illinois politics. Unionized government delivers services ever-less efficiently in rough proportion to its ever-increasing size.
Institute on WCIA 3: Grant monitoring virtually non-existent
Institute on WCIA 3: Grant monitoring virtually non-existent
Illinois Policy Institute Executive Vice President, Kristina Rasmussen, joined WCIA-3‘s Steve Staeger to discuss the lack of grant monitoring in Illinois. Almost half the state’s budget goes to grants. Some go to smaller government bodies, others to non-profits. The money is supposed to be spent on good causes, things to help people. But, in recent...
137 tax increases proposed in 62 Illinois counties
137 tax increases proposed in 62 Illinois counties
AFP-Illinois, the Illinois chapter of Americans for Prosperity, is gearing up for the April 9 consolidated local elections. The group recently launched a new website designed to inform Illinois residents of local referendums that could cause their taxes to go up and are urging people to fight local tax hikes. In a recent newsletter announcing the initiative for...
By Brian Costin
Khan Academy launches classroom pilot program in Idaho
Khan Academy launches classroom pilot program in Idaho
More than 10,000 students across Idaho will be using Khan Academy, the successful Internet education organization, in their classroom this coming school year. Khan Academy’s videos – which span a variety of subjects, from Renaissance art to game theory – have allowed many teachers to “flip” classrooms by letting students to listen to lectures at home and work on homework...