By Brian Costin
09/14/2013
With unpaid bills exceeding $8 billion, long-term debt surpassing $200 billion and the worst credit rating in the nation, revelations that the “broke” state of Illinois spent $670,000 on copper-plated doors and another$500,000 for chandeliers and sculptures for the Capitol in Springfield is an embarrassment for the entire state. Earning bad press and the scorn of angry taxpayers still reeling from the 2011 income...
By Benjamin VanMetre
09/05/2013
The Illinois General Assembly passed a record income tax increase on individuals and businesses in 2011. And Gov. Quinn promised that it specifically was “designed to pay our bills.” Nearly three years and $18 billion in new tax revenue later, Illinois’ unpaid bills are still growing. Illinois Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka estimates that Illinois’ 2013...
By Paul Kersey
08/31/2013
Unions exist to give workers greater leverage in negotiating over compensation and working conditions, and to give them some protection from unfair treatment at the hands of management. If union officials are doing their jobs well, workers should be receiving better wages and benefits, and should be more secure in their jobs. But that’s not...
If you want to start a small business in Illinois, there are different forms your new business can take. For example, you can have a sole proprietorship, a partnership, a corporation or a limited liability company, or LLC. The LLC is a relatively recent innovation that has advantages over the corporate form, and it can...
By Matt Paprocki
08/16/2013
Today, Gov. Pat Quinn signed two pieces of legislation that result in greater budget transparency. The bills – House Bill 2947 and House Bill 2955 – which have both passed out of the Illinois General Assembly, mandate that the governor’s office posts the Illinois state budget online, and specifically identifies if there a budget surplus or a deficit within...
By Hilary Gowins
07/10/2013
Lawmakers on the Illinois General Assembly’s pension conference committee failed to meet Gov. Pat Quinn’s July 9 deadline to resolve the differences between the various pension reform proposals on the table. At a press conference Wednesday, Quinn announced that he is freezing legislators’ pay until they come up with a comprehensive pension solution. Quinn said he won’t collect...
By Ted Dabrowski
07/02/2013
After several months of saying that pension reform inaction by the Illinois General Assembly costs taxpayers $17 million a day, Gov. Pat Quinn lowered that number to $5 million per day for fiscal year 2014. That’s surprising, since no pension reform bill was passed in the recent legislative session and the unfunded liability is still almost...
By Chris Andriesen
06/29/2013
by Jane McEnaney On June 27, the Illinois General Assembly’s conference committee on pension reform met for the first time in Chicago. All 10 members of the bipartisan, bicameral committee were present. The committee met for five straight hours, hearing testimony from: Ty Fahner, President, Civic Committee of The Commercial Club of Chicago Jerry Stermer, Acting Director...
In May of 2010, the Illinois House of Representatives voted down the 2010 voucher bill. My hopes had been high for this bill, because I knew what school choice would mean for Illinois families. Vouchers mean freedom from failing schools; the possibility of students and families choosing their own path instead of being stuck with...
by Brian Costin The Illinois Policy Institute has long been a supporter of strengthening the Open Meetings Act, or OMA, and Freedom Information Act, or FOIA. Unfortunately, OMA and FOIA often come under attack by the Illinois General Assembly. The most recent assault is in the concealed carry bill that recently passed the House and Senate, and awaits Gov....
