Chicago Tribune

Ten Ways to Balance the Budget Without Tax Hikes

By Chris Andriesen
06/04/2009
Governor Pat Quinn claims that $3.2 billion in new personal and corporate income tax receipts are necessary to put Illinois’s budget back in the black. In a down economy, however, the last thing that families and businesses need to worry about is the dangling noose of higher taxes. The Illinois Policy Institute recently released an...

Illinois Budget Facts

By Chris Andriesen
06/04/2009
The Problem • State spending in Illinois has skyrocketed over the past decade, increasing 39% after inflation per capita since 1998. Meanwhile, population has only grown 6.8%. • In 1998, state spending per citizen was $3500. Ten years later, state spending per citizen was $4600 (inflation adjusted). • Overall, the state budget has ballooned from...

Why Aren’t There More Charter Schools in Illinois?

By Collin Hitt
01/31/2008
The most significant development in American public education over the past fifteen years has been the advent of charter schools.  There are more than 4,000 charter schools operating nationwide.   Some states are home to hundreds of charter schools.  Illinois is lagging far behind. There are only 35 charter schools in Illinois, enrolling less than one...

FAQ: How the federal scholarship program would help Illinois students

Illinois students could soon benefit from scholarship money to help them find a tutor, attend ACT or SAT prep sessions, pay tuition, get special education services or assist with other academic needs. That will happen in Illinois only if Gov. J.B. Pritzker lets the state’s schoolchildren benefit from the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit program, established...

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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