Illinois

Illinois was the only state to see a double-digit year-over-year jump in food stamp use

05/14/2013
by Ted Dabrowski     Food-stamp use rose 2.7% in the U.S. in February from a year earlier, with 15% of the U.S. population receiving benefits. The number of recipients in the food stamp program, formally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), reached 47.6 million, or nearly one in seven Americans. With more...

More Caterpillar layoffs in Decatur

05/14/2013
Earlier this month, Caterpillar Inc. announced an additional 300 employees will be laid off at the Decatur plant. The latest layoffs would take effect in July. The announcement comes a month after the manufacturer said 460 workers would lose their jobs effective in June. Unemployment in the Decatur metro area is 11.8 percent. Illinois has the...

Proposed TIF district would encompass Buffalo Grove government property

05/14/2013
by Brian Costin Property tax bills are hitting mailboxes this week for residents across the state. The average homeowner in Illinois has an effective property tax rate of 1.93 percent; this is the second-highest property tax rate in the country. Homeowners in Lake County pay a median effective property tax rate of 2.46 percent, which ranks...

IRS admits to targeting conservative groups

05/13/2013
by Paul Kersey The Internal Revenue Service has acknowledged that some of its agents targeted conservative and small government groups for unjustified scrutiny when they applied for tax-exempt status prior to the 2012 election: IRS agents singled out dozens of organizations for additional reviews because they included the words “tea party” or “patriot” in their exemption applications,...

Capitol Updates: May 13 week in review

By Jane McEnaney
05/13/2013
This week in Springfield, the focus shifted from pension reform to policy issues certain members of the Illinois General Assembly deem important, such as the Lion Meat Act. The Illinois Policy Institute had a big victory this week, as our workforce transparency measure passed the Illinois House and Senate and now heads to Gov. Pat Quinn...

Illinois state spending has grown 3x population plus inflation since 1990

By Benjamin VanMetre
05/13/2013
Some individuals would have you believe that Illinois has a “revenue problem” – that the state needs to increase taxes again because it doesn’t have enough money in its coffers. But don’t be fooled; Illinois’ revenue is at an all-time high. The Illinois comptroller reported that Illinois’ fiscal year 2012 revenue was $68.6 billion. Even...

Capitol Updates: May 6 week in review

By Jane McEnaney
05/11/2013
Both chambers were in session this week in Springfield. Moratorium on virtual schools passes out of committee On Tuesday afternoon, House Bill 494 passed out of the Senate Subcommittee on Charter Schools and was subsequently approved by the full Senate Education Committee. The Illinois Policy Institute’s Executive Vice President Kristina Rasmussen and Director of Education Reform Josh Dwyer attended both...

Unemployment woes: regional numbers show residents of Illinois cities still struggling to find work

05/10/2013
by Ted Dabrowski Illinois has the nation’s second-worst unemployment rate. At 9.5 percent, it’s two percentage points higher than the national average of 7.5 percent. That gap translates into lost opportunities and struggle for the many Illinoisans who wish to be gainfully employed. Nearly 130,000 more Illinoisans could be working today if Illinois employed people at the...

California lawsuit seeks to end practice of forced union dues

05/09/2013
by Paul Kersey In Illinois and many other states, government workers are often forced to pay union dues in order to hold on to their jobs. But a lawsuit filed on behalf of teachers in California may bring this practice to an end. Union officials use forced dues to fund massive political and lobbying drives...

Taxes matter: Illinoisans respond to higher tax rates

05/09/2013
Ben VanMetre Senior Budget and Tax Policy Analyst Proponents of higher taxes often argue that tax increases don’t influence how individuals behave. But recent revenue numbers in Illinois show that’s simply not the case. According to the Associated Press, Illinois’ income tax revenue for 2013 will exceed previous forecasts by $1.3 billion. But revenue isn’t higher...
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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