Budget Solutions 2018: Balancing the state budget without tax hikes

By Ted Dabrowski, Craig Lesner, John Klingner, Michael Lucci

01/31/2017

A set of structural reforms that protect taxpayers and put Illinois on the path to prosperity.

Madigan’s rules: How Illinois gives its House speaker power to manipulate and control the legislative process

By Joe Tabor, Ted Dabrowski

01/04/2017

The little-known legislative rules that govern the legislative process in the Illinois House of Representatives give the House speaker extraordinary power to orchestrate the legislative or political outcomes he or she wants. Those rules allow the speaker to influence the makeup of legislative committees; how lawmakers vote; and when, if ever, the bills get voted...

Workers’ compensation for state, county and municipal workers costs Illinois taxpayers $400 million per year

By Michael Lucci

11/28/2016

Workers’ compensation is a significant cost to Illinois taxpayers and drains scarce tax dollars from government coffers. Political and business leaders often view workers’ compensation as a costly regulation that affects private-sector investment and employment in Illinois.[1] This description is accurate yet incomplete. The same heavy costs imposed on private-sector employers[2] are also imposed on...

Asset forfeiture in Illinois: What it is, where it happens, and reforms the state needs

By Ben Ruddell, Bryant Jackson-Green

11/16/2016

Most people expect Illinois law enforcement to defend the private property of Illinois residents. As long as you obey the law, your life, liberty and property should be secure from the law – or so common sense would suggest. Yet, every year, Illinois law enforcement agencies take tens of millions of dollars in cash, vehicles,...

Illinois is a high-tax state

By John Klingner

08/17/2016

Illinois had the fourth-highest combined state and local tax burden as a share of state income in the country.

The cost of Illinois’ lawmakers

By John Klingner, Ted Dabrowski

07/26/2016

Illinois lawmakers pay themselves the fifth-highest annual lawmaker base salary in the country.

An Illinois workers’ compensation system for the 21st century

By Mark Adams

07/15/2016

The state of Illinois has one of the oldest workers’ compensation systems in America, dating to 1911.

Illinois school district consolidation provides path to efficiency, lower tax burdens

By Ted Dabrowski, John Klingner

04/22/2016

Nearly 25 percent of Illinois school districts serve just one school, and over one-third of all school districts have fewer than 600 students.

The debt never paid: Re-entry reforms for Illinois

By Bryant Jackson-Green

03/31/2016

How to reform a broken criminal-justice system that prevents ex-offenders from achieving self-sufficiency

Not forgiven, not forgotten: The injustice of Illinois’ scarlet letters

By Austin Berg

03/30/2016

Chicago

Budget Solutions 2018: Balancing the state budget without tax hikes

Madigan’s rules: How Illinois gives its House speaker power to manipulate and control the legislative process

Workers’ compensation for state, county and municipal workers costs Illinois taxpayers $400 million per year

Asset forfeiture in Illinois: What it is, where it happens, and reforms the state needs

Illinois is a high-tax state

The cost of Illinois’ lawmakers

An Illinois workers’ compensation system for the 21st century

Illinois school district consolidation provides path to efficiency, lower tax burdens

The debt never paid: Re-entry reforms for Illinois

Not forgiven, not forgotten: The injustice of Illinois’ scarlet letters

4 ways to break out of Illinois’ pension trap

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