Hawaii

How to Save State Parks

09/06/2010
by Kristina Rasmussen With the state billions of dollars in the hole, Illinois’s network of state parks is facing budget cuts: The Wildlife Prairie Park subsidy is being wiped out as part of a $2.4 million reduction in lump sums at the Department of Natural Resources. DNR will also reduce vacant positions and defer “non-critical” maintenance at...

Not What the Doctor Ordered

By Chris Andriesen
07/28/2009
Imagine going to the doctor for a chronic headache and frequent blackouts. The doctor tells you to see a specialist – who you can’t see for another 17 weeks. After seeing the specialist, you must wait 4 weeks for an MRI. Finally, doctors discover a cyst in your brain, but the treatment you need isn’t...

Opening the books in Illinois: Basic transparency for better government

04/03/2008
Do Illinois citizens deserve to know where their tax dollars go?  Less than ten years ago, a state audit found that many of our public officials didn’t think so.  More than two-thirds of requests for public documents, the study found, were turned away at local offices.  More than a quarter of them were denied altogether....