The Policy Shop

A weekly podcast tackling Illinois' most important issues.

The Policy Shop: Brandon Johnson’s sinking mayorship

This edition of The Policy Shop is by assistant editor Dylan Sharkey. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson just barely won the city election less than a year ago, with about 26,500 of the city’s nearly 1.6 million registered voters handing him the race. A lot has changed since then, and voters are much more polarized in their views...

The Policy Shop: Chicago’s poverty paradox

This edition of The Policy Shop is by Head of Policy Joshua Bandoch. When President Lyndon B. Johnson told the U.S. Congress in 1964 he was declaring the War on Poverty, he did not set out a vision for an America in which over $12 trillion in taxes would be spent over more than 60 years to...

The Policy Shop: How Chicago became the Stolen Motor City

This edition of The Policy Shop is by writer Patrick Andriesen Detroit is the Motor City. Chicago is the Stolen Motor City. Car thieves and carjackers have gotten so bold, that a carjacking recently took place near Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s Gold Coast mansion. The only reason the two suspects didn’t finish the crime was because they...

The Policy Shop: Pritzker gaslights, Illinoisans step on the gas

This edition of The Policy Shop is by Director of Fiscal and Economic Research Bryce Hill. Illinois leaders question whether Illinois was a loser in 2020, but it certainly is a loser now. Population deniers in Springfield, cheered on by Gov. J.B. Pritzker, claimed from the start Illinois did not lose population in the decade...

The Policy Shop: Too much government licensing hurts jobseekers

This edition of The Policy Shop is by Director of Policy Research Joseph Tabor. If you are going to fly a plane filled with passengers, you should prove you are capable and be licensed. If you are going to cut open a person and prevent more heart attacks, again, you should prove your skills and...

The Policy Shop: Illinois’ sorry decade of population shrinkage

This edition of The Policy Shop is by Director of Fiscal and Economic Research Bryce Hill. Illinois ended 2023 with some bad news: There are fewer of us. Again. Multiple that “again” by 10. For 10 years in a row, Illinois’ population gains could not keep up with the rate of people packing up and...

The Policy Shop: CTU’s next target? Public school choice.

This edition of The Policy Shop is by policy analyst Hannah Schmid. The Chicago Teachers Union has been making a list, checking it twice, figuring out how to be naughty – not nice. Killed private school choice. The CTU destroyed the Invest in Kids Act through liberal investments of cash and threats during 2023, making Illinois the only...

The Policy Shop: Brandon Johnson’s public safety shell game

This edition of The Policy Shop is by writer Patrick Andriesen. Here’s a thought: Violent crimes are surging in Chicago and sending businesses packing, so let’s cut the number of cops on the street. That’s some brilliant, progressive thinking, right? Two Illinois Policy Institute reports this week highlighted Chicago’s crime problems, problems 66% of voters...