The Illinois Policy Institute and Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) released a new report shining the spotlight on state spending: If You Build It, Debt Will Come: A Closer Look at the Illinois Capital Spending Spree. The latest piglet book identifies a series of egregious spending examples included in the $31 billion capital bill that is...
by Wesley Fox Like many states, Illinois faces severe budget problems resulting from the economic recession. Illinois’s budget problems are made worse by the massive cost of its Medicaid program. According to the National Association of State Budget Officers, Medicaid represents approximately 30% of the Illinois budget. Only two other states (Maine and Missouri) commit more of their...
by Amanda Griffin-Johnson Over the weekend, unions in France protested pension reform plans, which include raising the retirement age from 60 to 62. The reforms are an effort to maintain France’s AAA credit rating and limit the growing public debt. But the reforms are rubbing some the wrong way. Reuters reports: The unions and the left-wing opposition say the...
With the Chicago Mayoral race heating up, so too is talk about the City’s $500M annual Tax Increment Financing (TIF) revenues. Former Chief of Staff to President Obama, Rham Emanuel recently gave a call to former Alderman and now U.S. Congressman Mike Quigley in regards to Chicago’s TIF districts. Recently, two Cook County Board President candidates,...
On September 30th the Illinois Turnaround Tour made a stop in Rockford. Over 50 people packed the Wallingford Center at the Best Western Clock Tower Resort to hear about the Illinois Turnaround Plan of lower taxes; responsible spending; transparent, accountable government; and a business friendly environment that empowers entrepreneurs, investors and workers. John Tillman, CEO...
“Imagine for a moment that your father, brother or husband had prostate cancer. That is bad enough, of course, but now imagine that they had to unnecessarily wait in long lines to get the most advanced and least invasive treatment possible, or perhaps, not receive this better treatment at all. Or imagine it is your...
by Ashley Muchow Meredith Whitney, former banking analyst, and current CEO of Meredith Whitney Advisory Group, doesn’t see anything short of fiscal ruin for a handful of U.S. states. In a Bloomberg interview, Whitney holds up states as the new systemic risks to the U.S. economy. Her company’s latest report, appropriately titled “Tragedy of the Commons”,...
by John Tillman Since the tax hike fight of 2009 (the picture on the left is from my debate on Fox 32 on the merits of a tax hike versus spending reforms – see it here) we have been saying some simple things at the Illinois Policy Institute. First, our problems are rooted in structural overspending. Second,...
by Collin Hitt It looks like Gov. Quinn is taking full campaign advantage of the federal education bailout funds that I discussed yesterday. I’d expressed some concern that the governor’s office issued some questionable advice to school districts, asking them to spend their federal allocations between now and November – advice that was offered without the...
by Collin Hitt The Age of Reform has begun in education, writes Jay Greene. Let’s review. It is now commonly accepted among mainstream elites — from Oprah to Matt Lauer to Arne Duncan — that simply pouring more money into the public school system will not produce the results we want. It is now commonly accepted...
by Collin Hitt Advances in learning technology combined with increasing affordability of computers will allow for a revolution in classroom learning. However, most teachers a certified through education departments on campus that are unenthusiastic about the use of new technology. The Thomas B. Fordham Foundation recently conducted a national survey of professors of education. Only 29 percent...
by Kate Piercy Some Governors have adjusted to the economic realities of the last few years better than others. How has our Governor responded? According to the Cato Institute’s 10th biennial survey of the best and worst Governors on fiscal issues, not well. Who were the stars and who were the slackers? The Wall Street Journal reports: The Cato...
by Collin Hitt Last Monday, the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget sent a letter to Illinois school districts urging them to frantically spend newly available federal stimulus funds totaling more than $400 million, before the end of November. Highly unusual, however, was that the letter and the governor’s instructions were apparently written and circulated...
by Mark Cavers On Friday September 24th, the Editorial Board at USA Today penned an opinion piece titled, “Our view on the Pledge to America.” In this article, USA Today refers to the extension of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts as an irresponsible “giveaway.” Even more irresponsible is the pledge’s vow to permanently extend all the...