Chicago

Quinn signs Chicago cell-phone tax hike

By Hilary Gowins
06/06/2014
Chicagoans could be on the brink of a cell-phone tax hike. Gov. Pat Quinn has signed into law an amendment to House Bill 2453, which gives the city of Chicago the authority to raise the city’s per-line 911 fee to $3.90 from the current fee of $2.50. Chicago cell-phone users are already hit hard by...

Chicago Public Schools prom slogan: ‘This Is Are Story’

By Hilary Gowins
06/06/2014
It’s hard to deny just how poorly Chicago’s public schools are performing when it hits you in the face. Such is the case with Paul Robeson High School’s 2014 prom theme: “This is Are Story.” That image came from veteran investigative reporter Chuck Goudie, who posted this image on his Facebook page. Some people might...

The power of your voice

06/06/2014
It’s easy to be apathetic when it comes to effecting change in Illinois. Rampant corruption, legislators voting on bills they don’t read and the oversized influence of lobbyists all make trying to change public policy for the better a seemingly impossible task. But this doesn’t have to be the case – there are plenty of...

Not as good as you think: Illinois’ underperforming schools

06/05/2014
Is the school your child attends as good as you think it is? New research by Lance Izumi – senior director of education studies at the California-based Pacific Research Institute – shows that a large number of suburban Illinois public schools aren’t making the grade. His study complements research conducted by the Illinois Policy Institute...

2014 legislative victories

By Matt Paprocki
06/05/2014
The driving goal of the Illinois Policy Institute is to transform liberty principles into marketable policies that become law. The ultimate sign of success is when free market ideas are enacted into laws that change Illinoisans’ lives for the better. Illinois Policy Action’s 2014 legislative agenda emphasized the importance of a financially responsible and limited...

Illinois craft brewers fight to stop damaging regulations

By Justin Hegy
06/05/2014
The Illinois Liquor Control Commission, or ILCC, has proposed new regulations to the craft brewing industry that would halt expansion plans for many craft breweries throughout the state. The proposed regulations would limit brewpubs’ ability to produce and sell more than 1,200 barrels of their beer for offsite consumption, even to licensed distributers. This is...

Illinois Corruption Watch, May 2014

By Brian Costin
06/04/2014
In completing our second month of the new “Illinois Corruption Watch” project, we are shocked at the volume of corruption stories being reported across the state. In just two months we have found reports of 101 different corruption-related stories; 45 in April and 56 in May. It’s no wonder Illinois citizens have by far the...

Chicago unemployment rate 5th highest of nation’s 49 largest metro areas

By John Klingner
06/02/2014
Illinois politicians want to make things worse for the many Chicagoans struggling to find jobs and make ends meet. They’re calling for state, county and local tax hikes on the city that already has one of the worst metro area unemployment rates in the nation, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Gov. Pat...

Illinois legislators try to resurrect unconstitutional ‘Amazon tax’

06/02/2014
Last October, the Illinois Supreme Court struck down the state’s “Amazon tax,” a state law that would have forced many online retailers to pay Illinois taxes regardless of whether they had any physical presence in the state. Now, despite this ruling, some legislators are trying to bring back this tax. The “Amazon tax” required Amazon...

Illinois proposes potential damaging rules on brew pubs

By Justin Hegy
05/29/2014
On May 14, one day before the official start of Chicago Craft Beer Week, the Illinois Liquor Control Commission, or ILCC, proposed a harsh new cap on the amount of beer Illinois’ brew pubs would be allowed to sell. Under the proposed rules, a brew pub would not be allowed to sell more than 50,000...

TAGS: craft beer