Alabama

Don’t buy mom Illinois bonds for Christmas

12/19/2013
Would you invest your mother’s money in municipal bonds? In a recent interview on Fox Business News, host Gerri Willis asked me that very question. It didn’t take me long to say I’d certainly do my homework first. Based on the growing number of city bankruptcies from Alabama to Rhode Island to California, it’s clear to me...

Government officials using anti-discrimination law to perpetuate educational disadvantages

By Bryant Jackson-Green
09/09/2013
The Department of Justice is seeking a federal court order to halt Louisiana’s school voucher program. The order would apply to school districts still under federal desegregation supervision. Arguing that the implementation of the voucher system has caused “school wide racial demographics to stray further from district-wide percentages,” the DOJ seeks to put the program on hold...

Toss a cigarette, get a felony, go to jail

By Bryant Jackson-Green
08/30/2013
Smokers should be careful not to flick too many cigarette butts out of their windows on their commute – starting next year, it could land them in prison for one to three years. The punishment sounds too outrageous to believe, but it’s true. Under a new Illinois law, someone who tosses a cigarette on the...

Interactive dashboard: State income tax rates

By Benjamin VanMetre
08/28/2013
Illinois’ competitive flat rate income tax is protected in the state’s constitution. But there is a growing movement to increase income taxes in Illinois by swapping out the state’s flat-rate income tax for a progressive tax. The progressive tax plan is being sold as a tax on the rich. But the data tell a different...

Detroit: A story that must be told

By Ted Dabrowski
08/23/2013
Two weeks ago I took in the demise of Detroit with my own eyes. I was fortunate to be with my colleague, Detroit native Paul Kersey. As we embarked on the trip, he told me “Detroit is a story that must be told.” He was right. I’d seen the pictures and knew the history, but...

TAGS: Detroit

McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission and the case for capless campaign spending

By Bryant Jackson-Green
08/21/2013
Not long after the Supreme Court announced earlier this year that it would hear McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission, a case concerning election contribution limits, political commentators began to hype the alleged dangers of money in our political process. In recent weeks, with the Supreme Court scheduled to hear arguments in the case in October,...

Pat Quinn is fourth-highest paid governor in the country

By Hilary Gowins
07/10/2013
At a time when the state of Illinois has more than $100 billion in unfunded pension liabilities, more than $6 billion in unpaid bills and is coming off of its 13th credit downgrade since 2009, it might shock Illinoisans to hear that Gov. Quinn is one of the highest-paid governors in the country. Gov. Pat Quinn’s salary is $177,412. According...
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Pathway to a Profession: How Apprenticeships Could Reshape Illinois’ Beauty Service Industry

Occupational licensing requirements present one of the steepest barriers to low-income Illinoisans starting careers in beauty services. Illinois requires anyone seeking to become a barber, cosmetologist, nail technician or hair braider to obtain a state license, essentially a permission slip to work. Unlike 45 other states, Illinois offers only one pathway to licensure for each...

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Diana Graham

Process for unionizing non-state workers raises red flags

By Paul Kersey
06/19/2014

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

By Ted Dabrowski
05/02/2016