by Kristina Rasmussen Governor Pat Quinn recently signed a bill making it easier for local school districts to reap a windfall from higher local sales taxes. According to Chris Wetterich over at the State Journal-Register, Quinn’s action“eliminates the ability of county boards to block or reduce school construction sales tax levies.” That’s a shame, because as I experienced...
by Kristina Rasmussen Last night in Seattle, I had the pleasure of watching John Tillman accept the Roe Award at the State Policy Network’s annual meeting. The Roe Award pays tribute to those in the state public policy movement whose achievements have greatly advanced the free market philosophy. The activities and impact recognized by the Roe Award were...
In a trend that continues to worsen, more Illinoisans found themselves unemployed in the month of July. Illinois lost more jobs during the month of July than any other state in the nation, according to the most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics report. After losing 7,200 jobs in June, Illinois lost an additional 24,900 non-farm...
For most Illinois families, the price of the January 2011 state income tax hike is an additional week’s wages lost to state coffers. But for some, the cost has been much higher as jobs disappear altogether. Between January and June 2011, 56,223 fewer Illinoisans were employed* – a performance worse than any other neighboring state....
by Emily Dietrich Imagine what Illinois will look like in 2050. The social and economic fabric of the country will definitely have changed. By then, the United States will have an additional 100 million people. Noted futurist and author Joel Kotkin has given this a lot of thought. Recently, he led a discussion at Illinois Policy Institute....
by Emily Dietrich This year Illinois lawmakers spiked taxes on employees and employers alike. But when big businesses threatened to move to other states in response to the higher taxes, Illinois politicians rushed in and offered tax cuts and other incentives. Companies like Motorola and Caterpillar were saved. But what’s the real story behind the tax increases?...
Over the past three months, the Illinois Policy Institute has been working with 16 government entities in Lyons Township to the implement transparency best-practices as part of our local government transparency project. The Institute just completed a second round of audits on the local governments; this is an important benchmark for checking progress. You can see the...
by Mark Cavers Over the past three months, the Illinois Policy Institute has been working with 16 government entities in Lyons Township to the implement transparency best-practices as part of our local government transparency project. The Institute just completed a second round of audits on the local governments; this is an important benchmark for checking progress. You...
In a trend that continues to worsen, more Illinoisans found themselves unemployed in the month of July. Illinois lost more jobs during the month of July than any other state in the nation, according to the most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics report. After losing 7,200 jobs in June, Illinois lost an additional 24,900 non-farm...
by Mark Cavers Last week, Governor Quinn signed into law the Tax Disclosure Act, which instructs the Department of Revenue to provide information on all state and local taxes in a single, central online database. Under this law, citizens will be able to see every tax they pay with just a few clicks of the mouse....
by Emily Dietrich In April, Americans celebrated Tax Freedom Day – the day of the year on which workers’ have earned enough money to pay all their annual taxes at the federal, state and local level. Liberating, right? Not so fast. When total government spending and costly regulations are factored into the government’s price tag,...
by Michael Wille On Thursday, a state Senator provided further evidence of the state’s inability to manage its education dollars. A hearing revealed last week that students with failing grades at Chicago State University continued to receive educational assistance dollars. Senator Edward Maloney indicated the following: Maloney, who requested state financial aid information after the Tribune report,...
by Ted Dabrowski Last Thursday, the Illinois Policy Institute warned of Illinois’s ballooning pension liabilities (See US Downgraded: Illinois Next?). In particular, the Institute’s paper highlighted the increasing scrutiny Illinois will receive from credit agencies once they begin to account for state’s overwhelming retirement obligations. Only hours later, Moody’s Investors Service, the credit rating agency, released...
by Jonathan Ingram Illinois cannot afford Obamacare. The Medicaid expansion in Obamacare is expected to increase Illinois’s Medicaid spending to $10.2 billion by 2030. This represents a 77 percent increase over 2008 spending. Illinois already faces a spending crisis, particularly within Medicaid, and the Comptroller reports even longer delays for payments to doctors and hospitals treating Medicaid patients are...