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Battle over Minimum Wage

Last week House Speaker Michael Madigan advanced a proposal to ask voters via the November ballot whether the state’s minimum wage should be increased to $10 an hour. Despite countless reports and research, the argument over the minimum wage still remains contentious. Opponents claim raising the wage will cause a loss in jobs and a rise in costs...

‘The Independents’: John Tillman on Chicago, Detroit and pension reform

John Tillman, CEO of the Illinois Policy Institute, joins the hosts of the “The Independents” on Fox Business to discuss how Chicago compares to Detroit and the needed reforms to make sure the Windy City doesn’t suffer the same fate.

Residents taking protest vs. escalating property taxes to local elected officials

This article was written by Denise Moran and featured in the The Courier News (A Chicago Sun-Times publication) on May 20, 2014. BURLINGTON — On Monday night, 30 area residents attended both the Central Community Unit School District 301 board meeting and the Plato Township meeting. They also are planning to attend the next Elgin...

Obamacare’s Hispanic problem

The following piece by Naomi Lopez Bauman was featured in the Washington Times on May 15, 2014.  Hispanics have the nation’s highest uninsured rate, yet few enrolled for medical coverage under Obamacare. Despite the expenditure of vast sums of money and manpower in targeted Hispanic communities, only one in five of those eligible to purchase...

Illinois Supreme Court got it wrong on term limits in ‘94

The following opinion piece by Jacob Huebert was featured in the State Journal Register on Thursday May 15, 2014 Illinoisans want term limits. Polls consistently show it, and a petition drive to put a term-limits measure on the ballot this November collected nearly double the amount of signatures the law requires. But a few people...

Why is Illinois unemployment so high?

By Paul Merrion Illinois always has been one of the last states to suffer from a recession and one of the last states to recover, but this is getting ridiculous. Nearly five years after the recession ended nationwide, the Illinois unemployment rate is 8.4 percent, third worst in the nation. When Gov. Pat Quinn took...

School inequity: Does education quality depend on where you live?

The wide range of needs in different schools, and even within schools, makes it tough to reach a consensus on how to improve education. Other hurdles are built into the American DNA. We respect everyone but we will fight for our own kids, our own families, and our own neighborhoods. It’s homework time at the...

Questionable Grant: Your Money to Help Sherman Determine What Roads are Bad

Grants help so many organizations, non-profits, governments. But, some grants using your tax dollars and going to local governments are raising some eyebrows right now. $5,000 is heading to the Village of Sherman in the form of a grant from the Sangamon County Regional Planning Commission. The grant is from the federal government through IDOT....