Illinois Arts Council

Illinois must rein in spending

By Benjamin Hines
04/06/2026
Increases funded by federal COVID aid have been made permanent, causing a fiscal problem.

Illinois gas tax hike comes packed with pork

By Austin Berg
07/12/2019
Illinoisans deserve a pothole-free future. But are they getting a bang for their gas tax buck? Or is Pritzker’s $45 billion “Rebuild Illinois” program just another vehicle to deliver special favors? A deep dive into the capital plan points toward the latter, showing at least $1.25 billion in pork-barrel projects.

TAGS: gas tax, JB Pritzker

Waste Watch: Nearly $100M of waste in Illinois state and local government

By Adam Schuster, Alec Mena, Travis Nix
10/08/2018
Illinois taxpayers are fed up and overtaxed. Residents have little faith that their governments are spending their tax dollars well – and for good reason. The state’s most recent spending plan is out of balance by as much as $1.5 billion, and includes $54.2 million in wasteful spending and $27 million in pork-barrel spending. The...

Budget Solutions 2019: The responsible budget for Illinois

By Orphe Divounguy, Bryce Hill, Joe Tabor
02/06/2018
Even after a 32 percent income tax hike, the Illinois General Assembly passed a state budget in 2017 that will generate an estimated $1.5 billion deficit in fiscal year 2018. That deficit is projected to grow to $2.15 billion in fiscal year 2019, according to the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget, or GOMB. The...

House budget full of pork

By illinoispolicy
05/15/2014
State politicians are in Springfield right now voting on budget bills that call for spending $3 billion more than the state will take in from income tax revenues. These budget bills are fraught with wasteful spending. Here are some examples: House Bill 6149 would appropriate a total of $1.8 billion from the General Revenue Fund...

A Tale of Two Speeches

02/28/2011
Madison and Springfield less than 300 miles apart, yet they couldn't be more different in their approaches to governing.
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FAQ: How the federal scholarship program would help Illinois students

Illinois students could soon benefit from scholarship money to help them find a tutor, attend ACT or SAT prep sessions, pay tuition, get special education services or assist with other academic needs. That will happen in Illinois only if Gov. J.B. Pritzker lets the state’s schoolchildren benefit from the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit program, established...

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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