Red-light cameras a case study in Chicago corruption, waste and failure

By Austin Berg

07/21/2014

Chicago has the most red-light cameras of any city in the country. Since 2003, the city’s 352 cameras have levied nearly half a billion dollars in fines. These cameras are sold to the public as a way to promote traffic safety, but the real outcome of the city’s program has been to grift lawful drivers...

TAGS: Chicago, corruption, cronyism, red light cameras, Redflex Traffic Systems, waste

1,000 Groupon deals won’t save taxpayers from Divvy failures

By Brian Costin

12/15/2013

With winter nearly upon us, riding a bicycle in Chicago is probably the furthest thing from most people’s minds – except for the more than 1,000 people who’ve recently purchased a Divvy Groupon. Divvy is Chicago’s taxpayer-funded bike-share program, through which users can buy daily or annual memberships to rent one of more than 3,000 bicycles...

TAGS: cronyism, Divvy, waste

Unions block Medicaid scrub that could’ve saved state $350M a year

By Paul Kersey

11/29/2013

It wouldn’t be entirely fair to say that government unions exist solely to make government less effective and more expensive, but sometimes that’s just exactly what they do. One blatant example came a few weeks ago, when American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Council 31 pushed the state into abandoning its contract with...

TAGS: AFSCME: American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, fraud, Maximus, Medicaid, waste

Institute on ABC 20: Legislative committee stipends are a waste

01/31/2013

Institute Senior Director of Government Affairs, Matt Paprocki, joined ABC 20 to discuss legislative committee stipends, which are a waste. State lawmakers make about $65,000 a year for a job many of you think is part time. But that?s not all you pay them. If a lawmaker is a chairman or a spokesman for a...

TAGS: waste

Tapped out Illinois makes plans to spend $1.56 billion on new projects in 2013

By Hilary Gowins

01/31/2013

If you owed more than $30,000 on your credit cards and were strapped for cash, would you spend $1,500 on a new home entertainment system?

TAGS: waste

Institute on WCIA TV: Illinois spending hundreds of thousands on office furniture

01/31/2013

A WCIA-3 News investigation focused specifically on office furniture. It found three departments among the biggest spenders: the comptroller, secretary of state and IDOT.

TAGS: waste

Institute on WAND TV: Illinois’ addiction to pork

12/31/2012

Institute policy expert, Jonathan Ingram, joined Doug Wolfe on WAND TV to discuss Illinois’ addiction to wasteful spending. Check our Piglet 2012 for examples of pork in Illinois. MUSEUM CAPITAL PROJECTS ABRAHAM LINCOLN MEMORIAL GARDEN FOUNDATION, INC. (Sangamon County) – $82,433. Renovation of the Ostermeir Farmhouse to add handicap accessible features, waterproof basement, replace carpet,...

TAGS: waste

waste

Red-light cameras a case study in Chicago corruption, waste and failure

1,000 Groupon deals won’t save taxpayers from Divvy failures

Unions block Medicaid scrub that could’ve saved state $350M a year

Institute on ABC 20: Legislative committee stipends are a waste

Tapped out Illinois makes plans to spend $1.56 billion on new projects in 2013

Institute on WCIA TV: Illinois spending hundreds of thousands on office furniture

Institute on WAND TV: Illinois’ addiction to pork

Chicago Forward 2026: A pro-growth plan to end city budget deficits

Report Archive

Diana Graham

Process for unionizing non-state workers raises red flags

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