Democratic Party

For entrepreneurs, the grass is greener … almost anywhere but Illinois

By Hilary Gowins
11/29/2012
How do American entrepreneurs decide where to set up shop? Business creators look at indicators like corporate tax rates and the health of a state’s finances when determining the best location in which to take root. According to a survey published recently by Thumbtack.com and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Illinois isn’t quite cutting the mustard. On...

Pensions and the Civic Committee

11/21/2012
Illinois has a long history of fake reforms – legislative proposals that promise to solve the great policy challenges of the day when passed, but never actually accomplish these goals. There is perhaps no bigger fake reform than the 1995 pension ramp passed by the Republican-controlled General Assembly and signed into law by former Gov....

Obama’s likely to continue focusing on big government solutions for education

11/08/2012
Unlike four years ago, a vote for the re-election of President Barack Obama was not about change. It was about maintaining the status quo. This is no truer than in the issue of education, where Obama will continue to use the federal government’s purse strings to incentivize states to pursue his top-down agenda. The two...

Despite Obama re-election, many states will still opt out of ObamaCare

By Jonathan Ingram
11/07/2012
With a second term now secure for President Barack Obama, states will need to decide whether they should opt-in to ObamaCare’s massive expansion of Medicaid. A Supreme Court decision earlier this year gave states the choice of whether to opt-in or not. So far, just nine states have committed to implementing the expansion. Leaders from most states,...

Michigan voters say no to union proposals

By Paul Kersey
11/07/2012
An interesting test for Illinois came in Michigan, where labor unions were largely defeated in a state that saw Democrats do well. Michigan voters rejected two union-backed ballot proposals that were intended to undo a string of labor-law reforms and cost-saving measures. The results confirm that the public in the upper Midwest is ready to rethink...

Election yields Democratic supermajorities in Illinois General Assembly

By Matt Paprocki
11/07/2012
After yesterday’s election, Democrats will have a supermajority in both the Illinois House and Senate after inauguration on Jan. 8, 2013. Senate Democrats picked up five seats and will have 40 seats in January – Senate Republicans will control only 19 seats. Illinois House Republicans lost seven seats yesterday, and House Speaker Michael Madigan will...

Doctors turning away Medicaid patients

By Jonathan Ingram
10/12/2012
Illinois knows first-hand how well-intentioned Medicaid expansions bust budgets and worsen care for the very people Medicaid was meant to protect. Ballooning enrollment has forced the state to turn to low reimbursement rates and long payment delays to make ends meet. It’s no surprise that more and more doctors are being forced to turn away...

TAGS: ACA: Affordable Care Act, health insurance, Medicaid

September jobs report — no cause for cheer

By Ted Dabrowski
10/05/2012
US labor report Many analysts are challenging the 0.3 percentage point drop in the nation’s September unemployment rate released this morning by US Bureau of Labor Statistics. The BLS announced the unemployment rate dropped to 7.8 percent from 8.1 percent in August. The unemployment rate, which is now below 8 percent for the first time...

September jobs report

10/05/2012
Today there are 5 million fewer people participating in the labor force than when President Obama took office in January 2009. That
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4 ways to break out of Illinois’ pension trap

Causes, costs, how to set the state free

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Diana Graham

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