Understanding Illinois’ broken education funding system
Understanding Illinois’ broken education funding system
A system where parents control the flow and distribution of money empowers families to hold schools accountable.
Nearly 72 percent of Illinois Medicaid cases reviewed last week had eligibility errors
Nearly 72 percent of Illinois Medicaid cases reviewed last week had eligibility errors
In January, the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, or HFS, began a new project verifying eligibility for Illinois’ 2.7 million Medicaid enrollees. For years, state workers had failed to take adequate steps to ensure the people receiving Medicaid benefits were actually eligible for the program. As an Auditor General report noted, state workers failed to...
Pay to stay
Pay to stay
Earlier this year Texas Gov. Rick Perry wrote a letter to Illinois’ businesses and individuals trying to sell them on a move to Texas. The sales pitch was simple — it wasn’t tax credits, grants or sweetheart deals. The sales pitch was this — Texas doesn’t have an income tax. Perry understands something that Illinois...
Federal agencies stage fake “shutdown” of websites
Federal agencies stage fake “shutdown” of websites
This morning we began to notice that a number of Federal agencies have “shutdown” their websites. We put that shut down in quotes because the websites aren’t really shutdown. In reality, federal agencies have “shutdown” websites while keeping them online to say they are “shutdown”. For example, here’s the page you will see when you...
Freedom for workers – teachers can get out of paying union dues
Freedom for workers – teachers can get out of paying union dues
Illinois public school teachers are required to financially support unions whether they want to or not. They don’t have much of a choice – it’s either pay up, or give up teaching. Union bosses claim to have teachers’ best interests in mind, but despite this they sometimes make outrageous demands that cost teachers their jobs....
9 states looking to cut taxes, Illinois looking to hike taxes
9 states looking to cut taxes, Illinois looking to hike taxes
According to Bloomberg, at least nine states are currently pitching tax cuts. In addition to the proposed $500 million tax cut by a Gov. Rick Scott in Florida, the tax cut efforts include: Republican governors Scott Walker of Wisconsin, John Kasich of Ohio, Paul LePage of Maine, Terry Branstad of Iowa, Sam Brownback of Kansas...
How ObamaCare will affect premiums for Springfield residents
How ObamaCare will affect premiums for Springfield residents
Oct. 1 marks the first day of ObamaCare’s open enrollment period. Despite the fact that consumers are expected to start buying plans tomorrow, the state and federal government have been tight-lipped about what will be available on the ObamaCare health insurance exchange. The federal government has begun trickling out bits and pieces about the plans, but...
As usual, politicians win, taxpayers lose in legislator pay lawsuit
As usual, politicians win, taxpayers lose in legislator pay lawsuit
In July, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn used his line-item veto power to suspend legislators’ salaries, pledging to withhold legislators’ paychecks until they solved the state’s pension problem. But just Thursday, Cook County Circuit Court Judge Neil H. Cohen ruled that Quinn’s move was unconstitutional. Article IV, Section 11, of the Illinois Constitution prohibits any “changes” to...
Part-time Illinois: Work hours have dropped since ObamaCare signed into law
Part-time Illinois: Work hours have dropped since ObamaCare signed into law
Executive Summary Illinois is in the midst of a decades long struggle to overcome numerous challenges ranging from corruption, high unemployment, underfunded pensions and high taxes. At a time when the state can’t afford any additional obstacles, recent data provide support to the claim that employers have been cutting employee hours to avoid the costliest...
Part-time Illinois: Work hours have dropped since ObamaCare signed into law
Part-time Illinois: Work hours have dropped since ObamaCare signed into law
Illinois is in the midst of a decades long struggle to overcome numerous challenges ranging from corruption, high unemployment, underfunded pensions and high taxes. At a time when the state can’t afford any additional obstacles, recent data provide support to the claim that employers have been cutting employee hours to avoid the costliest aspects of...
More than 150,000 Medicaid enrollees found ineligible for the program
More than 150,000 Medicaid enrollees found ineligible for the program
In January, the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, or HFS, began a new project verifying eligibility for Illinois’ 2.7 million Medicaid enrollees. For years, state workers had failed to take adequate steps to ensure the people receiving Medicaid benefits were actually eligible for the program. As an Auditor General report noted, state workers failed to...
ObamaCare: How much is it going to cost Illinosians?
ObamaCare: How much is it going to cost Illinosians?
Illinoisans have heard the pitches about how affordable health insurance will be under the Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as ObamaCare. On Sept. 24, Gov. Pat Quinn was trumpeting the ObamaCare health insurance exchange in Illinois. Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is at it. Both have been cheering the least-expensive health insurance...
Labor law fails to protect whistleblowers
Labor law fails to protect whistleblowers
The ethics of big labor tend to be completely backward, protecting the corrupt while punishing the diligent. One reason why is a federal labor law that fails to protect union officials when they try to protect their members from crime, as James Sherk writes in National Review’s “Corner” blog. In a recent article that appeared...
Illinois’ ‘weak management practices’ land it low on Forbes’ list of best states for business
Illinois’ ‘weak management practices’ land it low on Forbes’ list of best states for business
Forbes released this week its Best States for Business 2013 index. Illinois held onto its 2012 rank of the 38th-best state for business. The study scores all 50 states using 35 data points that are boiled down to six main categories. Illinois’ ranks generally fall in the mid-to high-30s out of the 50 states, with the exception its...