Constitution of Illinois

Due process denied: Illinois’ new scheme to take your tax refund

By Chris Andriesen
02/23/2012
by Peter White, Liberty Justice Center Residents of Illinois are dying a death by a thousand cuts. Municipalities are finding ever more creative ways to raise revenue: fees, fines and taxes. The trouble for some localities such as the City of Chicago is collection. Now, however, they’ve found something new: the City is going to...

Perfectly progressive

12/16/2011
by Kristina Rasmussen Illinois’ flat tax is one of the few bright spots in our state’s tax code. It’s simple, fair and good for growth. And, as NRO’s Kevin Williamson puts it, a flat tax is perfectly progressive: One’s income-tax liability is perfectly proportional to one’s income: At 10 percent, that means $10 on $100 in income, and...

Stopping union boss pension abuses: Can the legislature defend needed reforms?

12/12/2011
by Jacob Huebert In its November veto session, the Illinois General Assembly failed to pass the comprehensive pension reform that Illinois needs to avoid fiscal disaster. But at least it took one step in the right direction: It voted to repeal provisions of state law that allowed a few privileged individuals to receive large public pensions for the years they spent...

Likely Illinois Voters Place Budget Blame on Gov’t Spending

10/26/2010
In a recent survey of 750 Likely Voters in Illinois, Rasmussen Reports measured citizens’ views on the Illinois budget crisis. 73% of voters in Illinois blame the budget crisis in the state on politicians’ unwillingness to reduce government spending. 16% blame the taxpayer’s unwillingness to pay more in taxes. 10% are not sure who is more to...

Fake Reform: The 2010 Illinois Governor Recall Amendment

By Chris Andriesen
10/18/2010
The Problem Blago, Ryan, Walker—Illinois has a sorry history of crooked governors. Currently, the Illinois General Assembly has a monopoly on the gubernatorial removal process by way of impeachment proceedings. Citizen-initiated recall is one way to vest citizens with the ability to remove corrupt or poorly performing elected officials from office. Unfortunately, the Governor Recall...

The Jury on School Vouchers

03/24/2010
This report, prepared by the Institute for Justice, says SB294 is constitutional under both the federal Establishment Clause and the Illinois Constitution.