State worker who allegedly kept ‘mouth shut’ about ‘rape in Champaign’ to receive $2.7M in pension payments

By Austin Berg
01/16/2020
House Speaker Mike Madigan has built a substantial political army through taxpayer-funded promises.

TAGS: amendment, Champaign, constitutional amendment, debt, Forrest Ashby, Illinois, Illinois Constitution, Illinois General Assembly, JB Pritzker, Michael McClain, Mike Madigan, Mike McClain, pension benefits, pension contributions, pension costs, pension crisis, pension debt, pension obligations, pension reform, pension spending, pensions, rape, Springfield

Bill would stop Pritzker from paying state workers on the side

By Brad Weisenstein
01/12/2020
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has used his private fortune to pay $3 million in state expenses, including boosting salaries of 16 top staffers. Some lawmakers want the ‘unethical’ practice to stop.

TAGS: bipartisan, clout, conflict of interest, corruption, fair maps, house rules, Illinois, Illinois Constitution, Illinois General Assembly, independent maps, JB Pritzker, lawmaker pay, lawmakers, Legislative Inspector General, legislative map, lobbying, lobbyists, mapmaking, revolving door, salary increase, Smart Scale, Springfield, watchdog

Illinois personal income growth 2nd lowest in U.S. since Great Recession

By Bryce Hill
01/09/2020
Only Mississippi has fared worse than Illinois in personal income growth since the Great Recession hit at the end of 2007. Analysis shows state income taxes matter.

TAGS: corporate income tax, flat is fair, flat tax, graduated income tax, Great Recession, Illinois, Illinois General Assembly, income, income growth, income tax, JB Pritzker, labor, labor force, marginal tax, personal income, population, population growth, population loss, progressive income tax, recession, Springfield, tax burden

Madigan confidant used state worker’s silence on rape to prove political loyalty

By Brad Weisenstein
01/08/2020
Silence on a rape and about ghost workers were evidence of political loyalty that should save a state worker facing discipline, according to an email uncovered in an open records request.

TAGS: clout, conflict of interest, corrupt, corrupton, discipline, email, ethics, FBI, federal investigation, house rules, Illinois, Illinois General Assembly, JB Pritzker, lawmakers, Legislative Inspector General, lobbying, lobbyists, mapmaking, Michael McClain, Mike Madigan, Mike McClain, Pat Quinn, rape, redistricting, revolving door, Rod Blagojevich, sexual abuse, sexual harrassment, sexual violence, Smart Scale, Springfield, Virginia, watchdog

With voters set to decide on progressive income tax, Illinois wealth flight among worst in the nation

By Orphe Divounguy, Bryce Hill
01/07/2020
New data shows Illinois since 2010 lost up to $32 billion in income from people moving out. Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s graduated income tax plan would hike rates on residents most likely to leave the state, on net.

TAGS: graduated income tax, Illinois, Illinois Constitution, Illinois General Assembly, income, IRS: Internal Revenue Service, JB Pritzker, outmigration, pension reform, population, population loss, progressive income tax, progressive tax, spending cap, Springfield, tax rates, U.S. Census Bureau, wealth, wealthy

Indiana is building far more single-family homes than Illinois

By Austin Berg
01/03/2020
The historic change comes as skyrocketing property tax bills eat into Illinois homeowners’ bottom line.

TAGS: constitutional amendment, home values, homeownership, Illinois, Illinois Constitution, Illinois General Assembly, Indiana, JB Pritzker, pension costs, pension reform, population, population loss, property taxes, single-family home, Springfield, state constitution, tax burden, tax hikes, tax increase, U.S. Census Bureau, working-age

Illinois saw nation’s worst population loss during the decade

By Orphe Divounguy, Bryce Hill
12/30/2019
Illinois suffered its sixth consecutive year of population decline in 2019, driven entirely by residents leaving for other states.

TAGS: 401(k), debt, fiscal, flat tax, general revenue fund, Great Recession, high taxes, Illinois, Illinois Constitution, Illinois General Assembly, JB Pritzker, job creation, jobs growth, labor force, Mike Madigan, outmigration, pension debt, pension reform, population, population loss, revenue, shrink, Springfield, tax burden, tax hikes, tax increase, U.S. Census Bureau, working-age

Load More

Power in payments: Illinois can help unbanked residents, save money by adopting best practices in payment methods

Each year, tens of billions of dollars flow through Illinois state government.1 These flows all depend on methods of payment. In deciding on those payment methods, policymakers must consider a number of important factors, including security controls, cost effectiveness, accessibility, speed and allowance for choice. This report shows that by adopting best practices across all...

View Report

Report Archive

Ifeoma Nkemdi

Policy lessons from Illinois’ exodus of people and money

By J. Scott Moody, Wendy Warcholik
07/07/2014

CBS Chicago: Illinois’ highest-paid superintendent receives $400K per year to oversee 1,200 students

By Ted Dabrowski
05/02/2016