Cato Institute

AFSCME: The 800-pound gorilla at the negotiating table

By Mailee Smith
11/14/2016
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees claims to be seeking a “fair contract” on behalf of Illinois state workers. But the power and influence exerted by the state’s largest government-worker union means the bargaining table almost always tilts in AFSCME’s favor. The reality is that AFSCME is the power player in negotiations...

More education spending does not equal better results

03/24/2014
Madigan’s new tax proposal — which levies a 3 percent surcharge on income over $1 million to provide funding to schools — is packaged as an easy political sell. Who can argue with a pitch that cries: “More money for children!” But it’s not so simple. A look at the data about education spending and...

TAGS: PSAE

Illinois Obamacare grant goes to California

By Jackson Adams
10/28/2013
A California group with a history of making political contributions to Illinois politicians and connections to the Obama administration was awarded a federal “navigator” grant from the Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS, to help Illinoisans enroll in the Obamacare health insurance exchange. The East Los Angeles Community Union, or TELACU, was awarded...

TAGS: ACA: Affordable Care Act

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...

The work vs. welfare trade-off in Illinois

By Naomi Lopez Bauman
08/23/2013
A new study by the Cato Institute in Washington, D.C., takes a state-by-state look at the value of the welfare benefits package. While no one in America receives welfare benefits from all 72 federal welfare benefits programs that provide direct cash or in-kind assistance, long-term welfare beneficiaries are more likely to receive benefits from multiple programs. Highlights...

TAGS: welfare

Another day, another ObamaCare implementation delay

By Naomi Lopez Bauman
08/15/2013
The New York Times recently revealed yet another ObamaCare implementation delay. “In another setback for President Obama’s health care initiative, the administration has delayed until 2015 a significant consumer protection in the law that limits how much people may have to spend on their own health care. “The limit on out-of-pocket costs, including deductibles and co-payments, was...

The cost of Quinn

By Ted Dabrowski
10/19/2012
Gov. Quinn is not getting great press these days. The Cato Institute recently ranked him the worst governor in the nation. His approval rating stands at just 26 percent. And while Gov. Quinn may choose to ignore those messages, he may want to heed the warnings the financial markets continue to fire his way. Credit agencies have...
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Chicago Forward 2026: A pro-growth plan to end city budget deficits

Chicago’s $1.15 billion projected budget gap is the latest in a decades-long string of structural deficits. Making Chicago’s high taxes worse is not the solution.

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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