Partly cloudy: Municipal online transparency scores vary widely
Partly cloudy: Municipal online transparency scores vary widely
Improving government transparency is a year-round effort for the Illinois Policy Institute, but each year during Sunshine Week, we place a special focus on the issue. We celebrate Sunshine Week by releasing the latest round of Local Transparency Project audit results, this time measuring the transparency levels of some of Illinois’ largest municipalities, in relation...
By Brian Costin
ObamaCare gimmicks won’t secure more young enrollees
ObamaCare gimmicks won’t secure more young enrollees
A recent flurry of ObamaCare marketing gimmicks aimed at young Americans reeks of desperation on the part of the administration and Illinois state officials. Recent examples coming from the White House include a “Funny or Die” spoof interview featuring President Barack Obama with comedian Zach Galifianakis to a series of health care-themed GIFs on the...
By Naomi Lopez Bauman
Trapped in Illinois’ lowest-performing schools
Trapped in Illinois’ lowest-performing schools
Can you solve the following math problem? Ninety-two percent of students in Illinois’ lowest-performing high schools struggle to solve problems like this one. Low-performing schools aren’t a Chicago-only phenomenon – the city is home to only 45% of the state’s lowest-performing elementary schools and high schools. More than half of the state’s lowest-performing schools are outside of...
Rock Island committee backs progressive tax plan that would hike taxes on residents
Rock Island committee backs progressive tax plan that would hike taxes on residents
The Rock Island County Government Affairs Committee recently passed a resolution urging lawmakers in Springfield to increase taxes on middle-class families. The sales pitch for a progressive income tax in Rock Island – as well as cities and counties across the state – is that it would reduce taxes for middle-class residents. That’s simply not...
By Benjamin VanMetre
Illinois has the second-worst jobless rate in the nation
Illinois has the second-worst jobless rate in the nation
Illinois’ loss of 27,600 payroll jobs in January was second-worst nationally, according to today’s release from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Only California, which shed 31,500 payroll positions, fared worse. Texas and Ohio led the nation in adding payroll jobs. Illinois is one of six states with an unemployment rate significantly above the...
By Michael Lucci
Indiana-Illinois border war
Indiana-Illinois border war
Indiana cut taxes again last week. And it gained another Illinois business. On Thursday, Indiana cut business taxes, including a reduction in the corporate rate. That came on the heels of AM Manufacturing Co.’s announcement that it will move from Illinois to Indiana. AM Manufacturing Co. is a family-owned machine manufacturer. AM Manufacturing will move...
By Michael Lucci
Transparency before tax hikes
Transparency before tax hikes
No matter how you feel about government spending, most of us agree that the people have a right to know how their tax money is being spent. This means that before a local government raises taxes on their citizens, it should be transparent about how current tax dollars are being spent. Unfortunately, most of Illinois’...
By Brian Costin
Moody’s downgrades Chicago Public Schools and Chicago Park District
Moody’s downgrades Chicago Public Schools and Chicago Park District
When Mayor Rahm Emanuel went to SXSW to pitch Chicago as a destination city, he touted the city’s buzz. There’s no denying Chicago’s arts and tech scene is on the rise. But Emanuel failed to tell Austin crowds there’s a buzzkill on the way – the city’s fiscal collapse. Chicago continued its decline when two of...
The Lion Meat Act is back
The Lion Meat Act is back
In addition to having the highest jobless rate in the Midwest and the third-highest in the nation, Illinois’ jobless rate has gone up more in the last five years than any other state in the nation. Furthermore, the unfunded liability for Illinois’ five state-run pension systems has officially passed the $100 billion mark. With problems like...
By Jane McEnaney
New bill would give arbitrators too much power
New bill would give arbitrators too much power
A new bill proposed in Illinois, House Bill 5485, would allow arbitrators to impose “minimum staffing requirements” on local fire departments. While this might seem like a minor, technical matter, it has the potential to impose major costs on taxpayers, as elected officials from communities such as Rockford and Oak Lawn are warning in a...
By Paul Kersey
Illinois bill would require prescription for cold medicine
Illinois bill would require prescription for cold medicine
Should you need a prescription to buy cold medicine? State Sen. Dave Koehler thinks so, and he has introduced a bill that would require just that for medicines you’ve always been allowed to buy over the counter. Senate Bill 3502 would amend the Illinois Controlled Substances Act to categorize ephedrine and pseudoephedrine as “Schedule III”...
By Bryant Jackson-Green
Illinois’ biased eighth-grade labor history curricula
Illinois’ biased eighth-grade labor history curricula
Illinois state law requires that students be taught the history of organized labor by the end of eighth grade. And there is a bill in the General Assembly that would expand on that, so schoolchildren would have to learn more about unions. Unions are powerful institutions, so it’s reasonable to expect that children be taught...
By Paul Kersey
Chicago pension funds have $0.36 for every $1 needed to pay out future benefits
Chicago pension funds have $0.36 for every $1 needed to pay out future benefits
Moody’s Investors Service recently cut the city of Chicago’s credit rating to Baa1 from A3, citing pension debt as a key factor in the downgrade. Chicago’s now has the lowest credit rating of all the major cities in the U.S., with the exception of Detroit. Moody’s saw something that’s being ignored by Illinois lawmakers –...
By Benjamin VanMetre
Congrats, Illinois! Your pension shortfall is a $100 billion
Congrats, Illinois! Your pension shortfall is a $100 billion
The unfunded liability for Illinois’ five state-run pension systems has officially passed the $100 billion mark, hitting $100.5 billion. Source: Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability