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Tipping Point: Businesses crossing state lines for cheaper cost

Mike Flannery For those who ask, “Why does Illinois have the highest unemployment rate in the Midwest?” this is why. “They do not make — the state is not helping you grow your business,” Deron Lichte, owner of Food Warning Equipment Co. explains. “They’re placing hurdles in front of you.” Deron Lichte told us last...

Illinois government: Like wearing 3 sweaters

Last week brought Guinness World Records Day, and on that day we learned that Illinois set another record: We have more local government than any other state, and at 6,963 local government bodies we smash the competition by a margin of 1,800. Woo-hoo? How about, uh-oh. Most of us live under three layers of general...

ObamaCare by the numbers

Illinois Policy Institute Director of Health Policy Naomi Lopez Bauman joins Greg Bishop on WMAY to discuss ObamaCare.

Cutting property taxes begins with cutting government

A lot of local governments are looking at increasing their property tax rates this time of year. Although many of the individual government increases appear relatively small, when added up they could represent a significant increase in cost to local property owners. The root of the problem — explored once again in a new study...

Illinois has most units of government in the country

The state of Illinois has more units of government than any other state in the nation. That’s according to a new report from the Illinois Policy Institute. The organization says the state has more than 6,900 local government agencies. The state with the next-highest number is Texas, at 5,100. The Illinois Policy Institute says the...

Is Chicago on path to financial collapse?

by Investor’s Business Daily Fiscal Disaster: A major credit rating agency has just given Chicago, with more general obligation debt per capita than Detroit, its second triple-notch downgrade in six months. Its bonds are perilously close to junk status. Citing skyrocketing pension costs and a lack of meaningful solutions, Fitch Ratings lowered Chicago’s debt to A-...

Illinois has too much local government

By Stephanie Tyrpak By Randy Livingston Illinois has nearly seven thousand units of local government. That’s more than any other state. From school boards to library districts to county commissions, one think tank says it’s high time to cut that number dramatically. The Illinois Policy Institute says shrinking the number of government units will save...

Breaking: President Obama tries to delay mass numbers of Americans from losing their health insurance

Since ObamaCare was launched in October, more than 5 million Americans have been notified that their health insurance plans will be canceled. In the meantime, just 106,000 Americans have been able to sign up for new health insurance plans through ObamaCare. Here in Illinois, just 1,370 Illinoisans have put an ObamaCare health plan in their...