Illinois

Only 28% of Illinois residents trust state government, lowest in nation

By Brian Costin
04/16/2014
The constant stream of government corruption stories in Illinois takes a dramatic toll on citizens’ trust of government. A recent Gallup poll showed only 28 percent of Illinois residents trust their state government. Illinois is the only Midwestern state where trust in state government is less than 50 percent. The most recent corruption story to...

Why health insurance will likely be less affordable next year

By Naomi Lopez Bauman
04/15/2014
Many Illinois families are all too familiar with the many broken promises of the Affordable Care Act, or ACA, commonly referred to as ObamaCare. The president repeatedly promised that the average American family would save $2,500 per year. Not only did the president and administration later backtrack on that promise, but many families actually also...

Union dues are a $15 billion tax deduction

By Justin Hegy
04/15/2014
Union members are allowed to deduct their union dues on their taxes, equating to an estimated $15 billion nationwide. According to the Internal Revenue Service, workers are allowed to deduct union dues as part of their itemized deductions: “You can deduct dues and initiation fees you pay for union membership… You can also deduct assessments for...

Budget Solutions 2015: Keeping promises to taxpayers and turning around Illinois

By Benjamin VanMetre
04/15/2014
The 2015 fiscal year marks a long-awaited milestone for Illinoisans: taxpayers are less than one year away from tax relief. The record 2011 income tax increase is slated to partially sunset during the 2015 fiscal year. But politicians are already crying poor as Illinois approaches the tax-hike sunset. The solutions they’ve offered up involve making...

Countryside receives the Sunshine Award

By Justin Hegy
04/11/2014
On April 9, the City of Countryside was presented the Illinois Policy Institute’s Sunshine Award during their monthly City Council meeting. Countryside earned this award by taking the initiative to be transparent to their residents – posting vital government information online for the public to access. Scoring 93.1 percent on the Institute’s 10-Point Transparency Checklist,...

Linda Chapa LaVia’s 14,000 reasons for crippling charter schools

By Paul Kersey
04/11/2014
A week ago, my colleague Josh Dwyer reported an exchange between state Reps. Linda Chapa LaVia and Ron Sandack. Sandack, R-Downers Grove, recently asked Chapa LaVia – when they were debating the bill in the House to end the state charter school commission – what the logic was behind crafting the bill. Chapa LaVia responded:...

Ridesharing victory over cronyism

By Matt Paprocki
04/11/2014
This session, a bill was introduced to the Illinois General Assembly that would impose draconian regulations on Uber and Lyft’s ridesharing programs. This legislation was crafted by the cab unions with the intention of drastically increasing regulation so as to maintain monopoly control over the urban transportation market. In addition to stifling the free market,...

TAGS: Lyft, Uber

Metropolitan area jobs crisis continues

By Michael Lucci
04/10/2014
Illinois’ 10 largest metropolitan areas continue to be plagued with joblessness, according to a release by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This news comes on the heels of no monthly improvement in the state jobless rate, which at 8.7 percent is 2 points higher than the national average. Illinois has the second highest jobless rate...

Chicago property taxes: Rahm’s hikes vs. Quinn’s relief

04/10/2014
Gov. Pat Quinn is in a bind. He’s being asked to sign a Chicago pension bill that he knows has no real reforms and no way to pay for itself. By signing the bill, Quinn will give Mayor Rahm Emanuel his blessing to raise Chicago property taxes by $750 million over five years. But that’s...
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Fighting poverty with employment: Chicago block clubs

Leaders of these organizations on the South and West sides connect residents to jobs and engage youth to build safer neighborhoods.

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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