Chicago

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...

Spotlight on Spending #6: Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity

By Kate Campaigne Piercy
07/07/2010
The Problem Illinois faces $6 billion in unpaid bills with an unemployment rate over 11 percent—the highest in 27 years. The state pension system is underfunded by $80 billion, and the state’s bond rating ranks second lowest in the country. In response, Governor Pat Quinn’s proposed fiscal year 2011 budget would raise income taxes by...

Vouchers a Win-Win-Win: Trib

07/02/2010
by Collin Hitt In the wake of a recent study showing strong results for a Washington D.C. voucher program, the Trib is again urging Illinois lawmakers to support a school voucher bill that would provide students in Chicago’s worst and most overcrowded elementary schools with the choice of attending a city private school instead: No, we haven’t...
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Taxed out: 10 reforms to stop Illinois from losing people and jobs

Illinois’ tax code stands in the way of the state’s economic competitiveness. The combination of high tax burdens and a poor tax structure contributes to the loss of jobs and investment to other states. From a place of former economic dominance, Illinois now ranks 45th in gross state product (GSP) growth over the past decade...

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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