Barrington Township Area Transparency Results, None Pass Test
Barrington Township Area Transparency Results, None Pass Test
An audit of the Barrington Township area in Northwestern Cook County revealed no local government agencies graded received a passing grade on basic online transparency guidelines. The “Local Transparency Project”, a project of the non-partisan Illinois Policy Institute, consists of two separate transparency audits 6 weeks apart on 10 different online transparency categories including elected & administrative...
By Brian Costin
State Hires 22 Receptionists
State Hires 22 Receptionists
by Will Compernolle The State of Illinois hired 22 receptionists in fiscal year 2008 for $657,353.22 in combined total wages. Of the 22, 14 were titled “receptionist,” 4 were titled “clerk typist/receptionist,” 2 were titled “office receptionist,” and 1 was titled “receptionist-secretary.” The highest paid receptionist made $49,972 while the average receptionist took home a...
Public Employee Evaluations Access
Public Employee Evaluations Access
by Kate Piercy Gov. Quinn has made an amendatory veto to HB5141, which called for the exemption of all public employee performance evaluations under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The Institute argued against this bill, saying it would threaten transparency in government by prohibiting the release of public employee performance reviews under FOIA. The...
D.C. Schools Superintendent Wants Vouchers
D.C. Schools Superintendent Wants Vouchers
by Collin Hitt Special education in Washington D.C. public schools is mired with problems. So much so that legally savvy parents of special needs students often win big-dollar lawsuits to have their children placed in city private schools. Across the country, the role that private schools play in special education is small but significant. Parents,...
Polygraph Examiners Paid $83K Salary
Polygraph Examiners Paid $83K Salary
by Will Compernolle The Illinois Department of State Police hired 8 polygraph examiners in fiscal year 2008 for a total of $667,324.10 in combined total wages. The average polygraph examiner made $83,415.50 while the highest paid polygraph examiner took home an $85,949 salary. 7 of the 8 polygraph examiners had an annual salary higher than $80,000. According...
Gov. Quinn Signs Hair Braiding Bill Into Law
Gov. Quinn Signs Hair Braiding Bill Into Law
by Brian Costin There is a bit of good news from Governor Quinn’s office making the papers today. Quinn recently signed into law a pro-enterprise bill in regards to reducing the licensing requirements on hair braiders. Back in March, the Institute’s Executive Vice President, Kristina Rasmussen,testified on the principles behind the HB 5783 bill sponsored by Rep. William Burns...
With Government-Centric Health Insurance Children Lose
With Government-Centric Health Insurance Children Lose
by Mark Cavers The Associated Press reports that some major health insurers, including Florida providers Blue Cross and AETNA, will stop offering certain types of insurance for kids because of regulations passed in the Administrations’ health insurance bill. The decisions stem from insurance companies’ fear “that parents will wait until kids get sick to sign them...
State Social Historians Bring Home $46K Salary
State Social Historians Bring Home $46K Salary
by Will Compernolle The Office of the State Appellate Defender hired six social historians in fiscal year 2008 for $278,278 in combined total wages. The average salary was $46,379.67 while the highest paid social historian made $57,569. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the mean salary for a historian in Illinois was $45,900. A description for...
Project Funded by American Taxpayers
Project Funded by American Taxpayers
by Kate Piercy One of the best moves taken by Gov. Quinn when he took over as Governor after Blagojevich involved taking down the tollway signs that read “Open Road Tolling—Rod R. Blagojevich, Governor.” Yet, Quinn’s decision didn’t compel other state officials to stop “using government funds for self-promotion.” The Chicago Tribune reports, “Lately, on highways being...
Unlikely Illinois Will Receive Federal Money Included in State Budget
Unlikely Illinois Will Receive Federal Money Included in State Budget
by Amanda Griffin-Johnson Illinois Statehouse News (ISN) reports that “Gov. Pat Quinn’s office is, for the first time, acknowledging that the state may not get $750 million from Washington” for Medicaid. The Governor’s office was hoping that the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP), the increased Medicaid reimbursements from the federal government, would be extended. Chances are...
Students Take Education Reform Into Their Own Hands
Students Take Education Reform Into Their Own Hands
by Kristin Nisbet The Chicago Tribune reports that 13 high school students from the Chicago area are a part of the Youth Empowerment Program (YEP) sponsored by World Vision. These students confer, do research, and pick a public policy issue they wish to address–this year they choose education. These forward thinking students pitched their ideas to Chicago...
Jobs Errors
Jobs Errors
by Kate Piercy Last year, the White House told us the stimulus bill would cut unemployment, estimating it would be down to 7.5 percent today. As Dan Mitchell writes in today’s New York Post, “something obviously went wrong.” Today we’re at 9.5 percent unemployment. What happened? Part of the problem, according to Mitchell, was the faith in...
Tomorrow’s Schools vs. Today’s Politics
Tomorrow’s Schools vs. Today’s Politics
by Collin Hitt Reason Magazine has a great feature on online learning by Katherine Mangu Ward. As is typical with her journalism, it provides clarity to a complex issue. She sums up the unease with technology felt by teachers and bureaucrats, which has real consequences for today’s students: Adults who weren’t weaned on broadband find...