Chicago

Illinois Stimulus Project Makes 100 List

08/04/2010
by Kristina Rasmussen Yesterday Will blogged about the “Summertime Blues” list of 100 silly stimulus projects (compiled by friend-of-the-taxpayer Senator Tom Coburn). Will didn’t mention it, but there was an Illinois project on that list, coming in at number 72: 72. Studying Whether a Soda Tax Will Stimulate Health (Chicago, IL) – $521,005 The current administration has previously...

Food Carts Get Backing of Chicago Alderman

07/30/2010
by Amanda Griffin-Johnson On Wednesday, Alderman Scott Waguespack introduced an ordinance that would allow mobile food trucks to prepare food on-site. The existing food trucks in the city are only allowed to sell food that is prepared and packaged beforehand. The Chicago Sun-Times reports: “If we have all of our bases covered in terms of health...

Gov. Quinn Signs Hair Braiding Bill Into Law

07/26/2010
by Brian Costin There is a bit of good news from Governor Quinn’s office making the papers today. Quinn recently signed into law a pro-enterprise bill in regards to reducing the licensing requirements on hair braiders. Back in March, the Institute’s Executive Vice President, Kristina Rasmussen,testified on the principles behind the HB 5783 bill sponsored by Rep. William Burns...

Students Take Education Reform Into Their Own Hands

07/23/2010
by Kristin Nisbet The Chicago Tribune reports that 13 high school students from the Chicago area are a part of the Youth Empowerment Program (YEP) sponsored by World Vision.  These students confer, do research, and pick a public policy issue they wish to address–this year they choose education. These forward thinking students pitched their ideas to Chicago...

Worker Strike Costs One School $500K

07/16/2010
by Collin Hitt The construction worker strike in the Chicago area has cost Naperville schools at least $500,000, reports the Daily Herald. Construction crews may be back to work at Naperville Central High School, but the weeklong delay due to a labor strike is likely to cost the district at least $500,000… Work came to...

Constitutional Challenge to Illinois’s Campaign Finance Laws

07/15/2010
by Kristina Rasmussen The Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF) is challenging Illinois’s new campaign finance laws. From CFIF’s press release: Center for Individual Freedom Files Federal Lawsuit Challenging Constitutionality of Illinois’ Campaign Finance Law Vagueness of Illinois law and its discriminatory exemption for labor unions violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments ALEXANDRIA, VA — The Center for...

TARP Watch: Local Bank Is on Timothy Geithner’s Radar

07/15/2010
by Joe O’Malley Contrary to the free-market principle that businesses which make reckless decisions should fail, Chicago Democrats are now petitioning Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to bail out a local community bank. Its name is ShoreBank. According to the New York Times, ShoreBank made business decisions that were very poor: “An ill-timed, overly aggressive expansion at the...

Soda Tax Talk Bubbling Up Again

07/14/2010
by Kristina Rasmussen Talk of a soda tax is bubbling up again: CHICAGO (CBS) ― Feel like you’re taxed enough already? More could be coming. There’s an early push to explore taxing soft drinks that are sweetened with sugars – all to get you to stop buying them. CBS 2’s Kristyn Hartman reports it’s all about...

$1 Million Worth of Idle Recycling Carts

07/09/2010
by Will Compernolle Thousands of blue recycling carts totaling nearly $1 million in value are sitting idle in a warehouse in Chicago, the Sun-Times reports. The city acknowledged about 22,000 carts – priced at $45-per-container – are going unused because the city ran out of money one-third of the way through an effort to expand curbside...

$15K for Two Batting Cages

07/07/2010
The State of Illinois gave a $15,000 grant (#06-203940) in fiscal year 2006 to the Chicago Park District “for the installation of two stall type batting cages at Jackie Robinson Park located at 1054 South Morgan Street in Chicago.” According to the DCEO’s grant tracker website, the grant was part of the Grant Management Program “for specific purposes to...
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