By Patrick Andriesen
01/31/2022
A think tank advised Illinois leaders not to use temporary federal COVID-19 relief aid for on-going programs. It would lead to future funding shortfalls.
TAGS: American Rescue Plan, COVID-19, Illinois
By John Klingner
11/04/2013
This month, the more than 2 million Illinoisans currently enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, will see a cut to their monthly food stamp benefits. An Illinois family of three will see their benefits decrease about $29. Currently, the average Illinois household receives $285 a month in benefits. The cut in benefits is due...
TAGS: SNAP
by Kristina Rasmussen Today I stood up with a left-right coalition to call for the end of the FutureGen earmark. Details are below. Illinois Farmers, Government Watchdogs, and Environmentalists Hold Press Conference on FutureGen and Its Implications on the Federal Budget and Environment Springfield, Illinois—Today, representatives of Taxpayers for Common Sense, The Heartland Institute, Friends of...
by Amanda Griffin-Johnson This time of year, children go door-to-door dressed in costumes to ask their neighbors for treats. Throughout the year, governments at the federal, state and local level provide services and programs that many look upon as treats. But considering the cost and inefficiency of some of these programs and services, are these...
by Brian Costin One of my biggest pet peeves of all times is how some politicians have an insatiable need to put their name on things at the expense of the taxpayers. The open road tolling signs with former Governor Blagojevich’s name and the Richard M. Daley signs at O’Hare Airport come to mind. However, a...
by Ashley Muchow Illinois has received $8.4 billion in stimulus funds since the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) was passed in early February of last year. While these funds came as life preservers to some, a recent Mercatus on Policy study shows quite the opposite. According to Russell Sobel and George Crowley of the Mercatus Center, federal grant funding leads...
by Kate Piercy Section 1604 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (AARA) specifically prohibits funds from flowing to certain entertainment and recreation projects. Does a casino, aquarium, zoo, golf course, or swimming pool sound like recreation or entertainment to you? Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), Ranking Member on the Committee on Government Oversight and...
by Kate Piercy Here’s an interesting chart from the Mercatus Center’s Veronique de Rugy, who has examined different states’ unemployment at the time The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) passed and the stimulus funds each state has received so far. De Rugy found no correlation between the two variables. The chart suggests stimulus funds...
by Amanda Griffin-Johnson At the end of July, the White House’s Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board claimed more than 750,000 jobs were funded by the economic stimulus package last quarter. This estimate was the highest total reported so far, and some saw this as “encouraging news.” But Veronique de Rugy, a senior research fellow at...
by Ashley Muchow Long has it been the case that Washington politicians turn to the Zandi multiplier to justify stimulus spending under the conjecture that such spending triggers economic growth. Mark Zandi, of Moody’s Economy.com, is regularly consulted by politicians and the press for his “Fiscal Economic Bang for the Buck” chart postulating that spending initiatives, such...
