Rauner’s 4 reforms to keep child care subsidy afloat for low-income families

08/07/2015

Despite lacking a budget, Gov. Bruce Rauner is continuing CCAP for families currently receiving its services.

Making Illinois smart on crime: First steps to reduce spending, ease offender re-entry and enhance public safety

By Bryant Jackson-Green, Dianna Muldrow, Derek Cohen

08/06/2015

First steps to reduce spending, ease offender re-entry and enhance public safety

Crowded house: Illinois’ costly prison problem

By Bryant Jackson-Green

07/23/2015

Illinois spends $1.4 billion a year on overcrowded state prisons. Can the state get more for less?

TAGS: population, prison

3 lessons on criminal-justice reform from the author of ‘Orange is the New Black’

By Bryant Jackson-Green

06/27/2015

Piper Kerman draws on personal experience to show how public safety hinges on criminal-justice reform.

TAGS: criminal justice reform, Piper Kerman

Suspending state energy assistance opens door for reform in Illinois

06/09/2015

With the right reforms, Illinois can provide energy assistance to people who need it without using scarce state dollars.

TAGS: State Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program

Crony chronicles: Certificates of need

By Austin Berg

05/14/2015

How an Illinois state board known mainly for corruption operates a Soviet-style system proven to fail.

Moody’s: Illinois an outlier in pension debt

By Benjamin VanMetre

11/26/2014

Illinois ranks worst in the nation on ability to pay for its pension debt.

TAGS: budget, Chicago, Illinois Constitution, pensions, Senate Bill 1, taxes

Citizens auditing committees could yield big savings for taxpayers

By Brian Costin

08/30/2014

With improved state transparency laws and communities all over Illinois voluntarily becoming more transparent online, there’s never been a better time for citizens to get involved and hold local government accountable. But simply advocating for transparent government isn’t enough to identify waste, fraud and abuse of taxpayer dollars. Ultimately, government watchdogs must make use of...

TAGS: audit, good government, transparency, waste

Illinois’ jobs report card

By Michael Lucci

06/30/2014

It’s report-card season in Illinois, as the journey and efforts that began last August have come to fruition for students across the state. State governments can be graded too, in particular on the subject of jobs. How Illinois fares on job creation is critically important for local high school and college seniors, who have just...

Why Illinois doesn’t need mandatory labeling for genetically modified food

By Bryant Jackson-Green

06/02/2014

Should food producers be forced to label genetically modified, or GM, goods? It’s a trend that’s been popping up in states across the country, with laws now on the books in Maine and Connecticut. The possibility has been raised in Illinois, too, with a Senate bill under discussion that would require foods with even one...

Connecticut

Rauner’s 4 reforms to keep child care subsidy afloat for low-income families

Making Illinois smart on crime: First steps to reduce spending, ease offender re-entry and enhance public safety

Crowded house: Illinois’ costly prison problem

3 lessons on criminal-justice reform from the author of ‘Orange is the New Black’

Suspending state energy assistance opens door for reform in Illinois

Crony chronicles: Certificates of need

Moody’s: Illinois an outlier in pension debt

Citizens auditing committees could yield big savings for taxpayers

Illinois’ jobs report card

Why Illinois doesn’t need mandatory labeling for genetically modified food

Pathway to a Profession: How Apprenticeships Could Reshape Illinois’ Beauty Service Industry

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