Rauner making moves on pension reform

By Ted Dabrowski

01/21/2016

On Jan. 21 Gov. Bruce Rauner reignited reform talks surrounding Illinois’ worst-in-the-nation pension crisis.

TAGS: pensions

Illinois pensions: What you need to know

01/21/2016

Here's what you need to know about Illinois' $111 billion state pension crisis.

TAGS: pensions, SERS: State Employee Retirement System, SURS: State Universities Retirement System

Illinois paid $1.6M to state workers whose workplaces are closed

By Austin Berg

01/19/2016

A pending lawsuit by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, among other unions, is keeping dozens of workers on state payrolls – even though their workplaces have been shuttered for months.

TAGS: AFSCME: American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees

Illinois became less competitive after Blagojevich’s 2005 workers’ compensation bill

By Michael Lucci

01/19/2016

This blog is the fifth part of a series that explores Illinois’ workers’ compensation system, the state’s inadequate reforms, and opportunities policymakers should seize now to make the system less costly and more effective for employers and workers alike.

TAGS: workers compensation

Rauner moves to declare impasse in negotiations with AFSCME

By Ted Dabrowski

01/15/2016

Lacking signs of progress after 24 bargaining sessions with Illinois’ largest government-employee union, Gov. Bruce Rauner says that “further negotiation is no longer worthwhile.” AFSCME continues to ignore the fact that the people who pay its members’ salaries and benefits, Illinois taxpayers, continue to struggle in a difficult Illinois economy. Illinois workers, faced with stagnant earnings, are now paying for AFSCME salaries that are double their own.

TAGS: AFSCME: American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, Bruce Rauner

Make body cameras mandatory to improve police accountability

By Bryant Jackson-Green

01/15/2016

Ninety-two percent of Americans support a body camera requirement for police officers; to enhance transparency and accountability, Chicago should require its police to use body cameras.

TAGS: police body cameras

Illinois is unprepared for the next recession

By Ted Dabrowski

01/15/2016

Sky-high debt and a meager rainy day fund make Illinois the second-least prepared state in the U.S. for its capacity to weather a recession.

TAGS: food stamps, jobs, manufacturing, pensions

Illinois taxpayers will pay steep penalty rate in $500M bond issuance

By Ted Dabrowski

01/13/2016

Illinois has the lowest credit rating among the 50 states, forcing taxpayers to pay hundreds of millions of dollars more in borrowing costs than residents of states in better fiscal condition.

TAGS: bonds, credit rating

AFSCME worker salaries grew 5 times faster than Illinois worker earnings from 2005-2014

By Ted Dabrowski

01/13/2016

Illinois could have saved a cumulative $3.5 billion had AFSCME salaries simply grown at the rate of inflation since 2004.

TAGS: AFSCME: American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees

Illinois’ budget from the inside: A conversation with State Budget Director Tim Nuding

By Donna Arduin

01/13/2016

Donna Arduin is an Illinois Policy Institute senior fellow and a partner at Arduin, Laffer & Moore Econometrics, a group that advises federal, state and municipal leaders, as well as political candidates and private-sector clients, on economic, fiscal and state policies.

TAGS: budget

Bruce Rauner

Rauner making moves on pension reform

Illinois pensions: What you need to know

Illinois paid $1.6M to state workers whose workplaces are closed

Illinois became less competitive after Blagojevich’s 2005 workers’ compensation bill

Rauner moves to declare impasse in negotiations with AFSCME

Make body cameras mandatory to improve police accountability

Illinois is unprepared for the next recession

Illinois taxpayers will pay steep penalty rate in $500M bond issuance

AFSCME worker salaries grew 5 times faster than Illinois worker earnings from 2005-2014

Illinois’ budget from the inside: A conversation with State Budget Director Tim Nuding

What is the Education Freedom Tax Credit and how can it benefit Illinois students?

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