Chicago

1,000 Groupon deals won’t save taxpayers from Divvy failures

By Brian Costin

12/15/2013

With winter nearly upon us, riding a bicycle in Chicago is probably the furthest thing from most people’s minds – except for the more than 1,000 people who’ve recently purchased a Divvy Groupon. Divvy is Chicago’s taxpayer-funded bike-share program, through which users can buy daily or annual memberships to rent one of more than 3,000 bicycles...

TAGS: cronyism, Divvy, waste

Chicago aldermen prioritize Styrofoam ban over real business of the city

By Hilary Gowins

12/13/2013

Two Chicago aldermen are convinced that banning Styrofoam containers would protect the children of Chicago. Accordingly, these aldermen – Ed Burke and George Cardenas – have proposed an ordinance banning the use of Styrofoam by coffee shops, restaurants, schools and other frequent users, according to the Associated Press. Burke and Cardenas are pushing this ban...

TAGS: Chicago, nanny state, styrofoam ban

Illinois has 43% of the country’s public pension plans

By Brian Costin

12/11/2013

Illinois has 43 percent of the nation’s public pension plans, according to a 2012 study published by the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, or COGFA, conducted by Marquette Associates on local police and fire pensions in Illinois. According to publicly available data, there are 1,511 public pension plans in the United States. With 657...

TAGS: pensions

Chicago backs off e-cigarette ban

By Bryant Jackson-Green

12/10/2013

Last month, Chicago was poised to become the second city in Illinois to impose burdensome new restrictions on e-cigarettes, threatening to regulate them like tobacco products even though they contain no tobacco. But after facing strong opposition at the City Council’s joint Finance and Health Committee hearing on Monday, a much weaker version of the...

Delaying the day of reckoning

12/06/2013

While the media and politicians across Illinois celebrate the state’s “landmark,” “monumental” and “courageous” pension fix, for most Illinoisans nothing has changed. Taxpayers will continue to hear calls for higher taxes to keep the state’s pension systems afloat. Government workers and retirees are still trapped in a pension system that gives them no voice, no...

October unemployment: 8 of 10 Illinois MSA’s unemployment rates rose or experienced no improvement year over year

By John Klingner

12/06/2013

Eight of Illinois’ 10 Metropolitan Statistical Areas, or MSAs, saw their unemployment rates rise or remain stagnant compared to October 2012, according to today’s combined September-October metropolitan area unemployment report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Decatur and Danville regions are still suffering the highest unemployment in the state, with 12.3 percent and...

TAGS: jobs, metro areas, MSA, unemployment

Amazon Associates back in business in Illinois thanks to Supreme Court decision

12/05/2013

On Wednesday, thousands of Illinois residents got good news when Amazon announced that its Amazon Associates program – which allows bloggers and others with websites to make money when people click links on their sites to make purchases – would once again be open to them. Amazon dropped Illinoisans from the program in April 2011...

TAGS: Main Street Fairness Act, marketplace fairness, taxes

Pension reform: Institute’s work on 401(k)s

By Chris Andriesen

12/04/2013

Illinois’ pensions are among the worst-funded in the nation. The state has just 40 cents for every $1 that has been promised in benefits, and many government workers are concerned that they do not have choice and control over their own retirement. Illinois should not be forced to leave their retirement to the whims of...

What the Detroit bankruptcy ruling means for Illinois

12/03/2013

Today U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Steven Rhodes ruled that “nothing distinguishes pension debt from any other debt” – and that Detroit’s pension debt can therefore be partially discharged in bankruptcy. What does that mean for Illinois, where huge unfunded pension liabilities threaten to render the state government and many local governments insolvent? If the courts...

TAGS: Detroit, Michigan, pensions

Pension solutions: reforming retirement age

By Benjamin VanMetre, John Klingner

11/26/2013

THE PROBLEM Illinois’ $100 billion pension crisis is the worst in the nation. The Illinois General Assembly’s failed attempts to solve the pension crisis in the past have only perpetuated Illinois’ problem. Politicians have done nothing more than tinker at the margins of reform to avoid making tough decisions. The reality is minor changes won’t...

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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