Illinois

Institute responds to faith leaders advocating for higher tax rates on the middle class

By Jonathan Greenberg
04/10/2014
On April 8, activists arrived unannounced at the Springfield office of the Illinois Policy Institute to protest our leadership in unmasking an unfair progressive tax grab. They left behind this letter. The following is our response. *** Dear Revs. Sharp, Coulter and Knox: Thank you for visiting our Springfield office earlier this week, and for...

Tell your legislators now to save UberX and Lyft in Chicago!

04/10/2014
The taxi lobby has been trying to get Chicago to destroy ridesharing services like UberX and Lyft, but it hasn’t worked because the services are just too popular in the city. So now the taxi industry has turned to Springfield for help crushing the competition, and it looks like state legislators might be about to...

TAGS: Lyft, rideshare, Uber

Chicago leading the pack in gas price surge

By Hilary Gowins
04/09/2014
The price of gas in the U.S. is going up, and Chicago is leading the charge. NBC Chicago reported that the average U.S. price of a gallon of gasoline has risen 5 cents in the past two weeks. And Chicagoans are paying $4.18 per gallon of gas on average. That’s the highest price per gallon...

TAGS: gas tax

A progressive income tax means fewer resources for businesses to invest, grow and create jobs

By Benjamin VanMetre, Erik Bauman
04/09/2014
A progressive income tax would hit Illinois’ businesses community hard. That’s because S corporations and most partnerships “pass-through” their income to the individual owners of those businesses, meaning their profits are taxed at the state’s personal income tax rate. That’s on top of the 1.5 percent replacement tax these businesses pay. State Sen. Don Harmon...

IMRF should not be used as a model for Chicago

By Benjamin VanMetre
04/08/2014
A key tenet of the current Chicago pension reform proposal, which is headed to Gov. Quinn’s desk, is an Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund-style funding mechanism that seeks to guarantee that pension payments are made to Chicago’s funds each year. The mechanism allows the state to divert millions of dollars away from the city and into Chicago pension...

TAGS: IMRF: Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan bullies producer of Four Loko

By Bryant Jackson-Green
04/08/2014
Last week Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan proudly announced a settlement that would allegedly ban the production of caffeinated alcoholic beverage called Four Loko. In a press release highlighting details from a 22-page settlement joined by 19 other states, the city of San Francisco and Four Loko’s Chicago-based maker, Phusion Products, Madigan boasts the agreement...

Illinois politicians weaken local control

By Paul Kersey
04/08/2014
About three weeks ago, we sounded a warning about House Bill 5485, which would allow arbitrators to set minimum staffing levels in fire departments throughout Illinois.  Since then, news outlets throughout Illinois have been taking note of this bill, pointing out to readers that it would take Illinois in the wrong direction by making unions...

State Sen. Don Harmon’s progressive tax plan would hurt Illinois’ small businesses

By Benjamin VanMetre
04/07/2014
State Sen. Don Harmon’s progressive tax hike proposal would be a massive tax increase on Illinois businesses. A recent Tax Foundation report shows that 61 percent of Illinois employers are pass-through entities – meaning their earnings are taxed at the personal income tax rate instead of the corporate income tax rate. Examples of pass-through entities...

LLC fees hurt low-income entrepreneurs

By Michael Lucci
04/07/2014
The Illinois Senate passed Senate Bill 2776 to lower the cost to create a Limited Liability Company to $39 from $500. This piece of legislation, which rightfully received bipartisan support, will take effect immediately upon receiving Gov. Pat Quinn’s signature. LLC fees are unnecessary and harm low-income entrepreneurs. In fact, LLC fees function like a...

CTA train operator fired after Blue Line crash at O’Hare

By Justin Hegy
04/04/2014
The Chicago Transit Authority, or CTA, has effectively fired the blue line operator who fell asleep and crashed a train into the O’Hare International Airport terminal. CTA authorities announced today the worker was issued a termination notice, which is effective immediately. They may have fired the operator for now, but this is just the beginning...

TAGS: labor, unions

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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