The problem State government owes billions of dollars for the pensions and health insurance benefits of retired government workers. Local governments owe billions more. Illinois taxpayers are on the hook for the liabilities of both state and local government. State government alone owes $83 billion to its pension funds. However, this figure alone presents an...

Executive Summary Since the January 2011 tax hike, Illinoisans have seen more of their household budgets go to shoulder the growing cost of government employee compensation packages – packages made up of overly generous pay and perks that many can only dream of. Righting this imbalance is one of the great social justice questions facing...

State spending will increase in 2012. That is, unless additional cuts and policy changes are added to the general fund budget currently awaiting Gov. Quinn’s signature. Following the close of the spring session, many news outlets reported that the House and Senate had passed a 2012 general fund budget of $33.2 billion that cut overall...