This week, the media and public have been sharply focused on congressional hearings on the calamitous ObamaCare rollout and glitch-ridden health exchange websites. But there may be a far more important ObamaCare venue this week: Richmond, Va. On Oct. 31, a federal judge will hear oral arguments in King vs. Sebelius, a case in which...
Even if Illinois pension funds see investment returns that exceed expectations, that still won’t be enough to plug the largest fund’s hole. The Teachers’ Retirement System reported its pension underfunding grew to $55.73 billion as of June 30, 2013 — an increase of more than $3.5 billion since the end of the previous fiscal year...
President Barack Obama promised in 2009, “If you like your health plan, you will be able to keep your health plan.” Yet Americans across the country are receiving notices that their health insurance plans in the individual market are being canceled as a result of ObamaCare. A recent Chicago Sun-Times article featured Sue Klinkhamer, a former...
When a state construction project goes up for bid, a union outfit often ends up with the contract. This is one of the seamier aspects of Illinois government. State laws and common practices for bidding are designed to cover up for union firms’ disadvantages and steer projects their way. The unions are always ready to...
A California group with a history of making political contributions to Illinois politicians and connections to the Obama administration was awarded a federal “navigator” grant from the Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS, to help Illinoisans enroll in the Obamacare health insurance exchange. The East Los Angeles Community Union, or TELACU, was awarded...
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...
“It is a safe bet that the General Assembly will never pass a bill limiting its own members’ ability to seek re-election.” – Christopher Mooney, University of Illinois Springfield professor, term-limits expert Overwhelmingly, Illinoisans support term limits. A recent poll showed 78.7 percent of Illinois voters support term limits. But good luck convincing Illinois legislators...
It was huge news in the summer of 2013. Chicago Public Schools, or CPS – one of the largest school districts in the country – had just voted to close almost 50 schools in an effort to right-size the district and eliminate wasteful spending. This meant thousands of CPS students would be attending new schools...
THE PROBLEM More than 21,000 students in Chicago Public Schools, or CPS, are being left behind. They are attending schools that fail to prepare them for life. A majority of students attending the lowest 10 percent of elementary schools and high schools in Chicago don’t have basic competence in reading, science and math. They’re significantly...
Comedian Jon Stewart ranted recently that there are more people who believe that ObamaCare was repealed than who have signed up for it. The president’s signature achievement is now a national punch line. The federal ObamaCare health insurance exchange website, healthcare.gov, has been plagued with problems since it was unveiled on Oct. 1. Many have...
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel released today his 2014 plan to close the city’s looming $338.7 million budget gap. His proposal is heavy on tax hikes and short on solutions. The mayor vowed not to close the budget gap with higher property taxes this year. Instead, the plan is to nickel and dime Chicagoans with tax...
After nearly a month’s delay due to the federal government’s shutdown, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced yesterday that the national unemployment rate edged down in September to 7.2 percent from 7.3 percent one month earlier. Overall, 11.3 million Americans remain unemployed. The U-6 unemployment rate, which includes all workers who are unemployed or underemployed,...
The number of Illinoisans enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, remained above 2 million in July. This is the 10th month in a row enrollment has exceeded 2 million, or one-sixth of Illinoisans. And the number of Illinoisans who seem permanently stuck on government assistance is growing larger. Illinois puts more people...
State Rep. Naomi Jakobsson, D-Urbana, recently revealed a new progressive tax proposal with rates that hit Illinois’ middle and working classes hard. Under current Illinois law, the individual income tax rate will be 3.75 percent in 2015. Under Jakobsson’s new plan, however, a higher 4 percent rate kicks in for people earning just $18,000. That income tax...