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...
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...
ACTION ALERT: House Pensions Committee to hear pension reform bill
ACTION ALERT: House Pensions Committee to hear pension reform bill
At 3 p.m. Thursday, March 21, the House Personnel and Pensions Committee will hear House Bill 3303, sponsored by state Reps. Tom Morrison, R-Palatine, and Jeanne Ives, R-Wheaton. HB 3303 is the Illinois Policy Institute-backed pension reform plan that actually fixes the problem. Real pension reform means: Implementing a stable, predictable and manageable defined contribution system. Eliminating...
Fox River Valley students could soon take part in virtual classroom
Fox River Valley students could soon take part in virtual classroom
A new multidistrict virtual school could be coming to the Fox River Valley. K12, one of the largest online learning companies in the country, is currently traveling across Illinois in the hope of getting 18 school districts to approve its charter. The company already runs a number of online schools nationally. In Illinois, it oversees the Chicago...
Citizens deserve a seat in the room — it’s time to require open meetings for collective bargaining
Citizens deserve a seat in the room — it’s time to require open meetings for collective bargaining
On February 28, 2013, Illinois’ largest government union, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31, which represents nearly 40,000 state employees, completed months of negotiations with state government over a new contract, yet taxpayers were locked out of the bargaining room during all of them. Since that time, taxpayers are still waiting to...
Wrong way Illinois: January 2013 unemployment worsens compared with neighbors
Wrong way Illinois: January 2013 unemployment worsens compared with neighbors
The latest BLS unemployment release once again highlights how poorly Illinois is faring compared with its neighbors and the nation as a whole. Illinois’ January unemployment rate jumped to 9 percent, a 0.4 percent increase over December’s rate. Illinois now has the seventh-highest unemployment rate in the nation, with nearly 600,000 Illinoisans unemployed. Meanwhile, the...