Illinois

When it comes to freedom, Illinois comes up short

03/31/2013
The Mercatus Center, which conducts market-oriented research at George Mason University, released a study ranking the 50 states based on whether or not government polices promote fiscal and personal freedoms.

Institute on ABC 20: Frivolous bills at the Illinois statehouse

03/31/2013
Illinois Policy Institute Executive Vice President, Kristina Rasmussen, joined Andrew Hansen on ABC 20 to discuss frivolous bills at the Illinois statehouse. $17 million dollars is how much Gov. Pat Quinn says the state falls in the red each day without pension reform. While there has been progress on the issue, no bill has hit...

TAGS: Illinois Statehouse

Institute on WCIA 3: Grant monitoring virtually non-existent

03/31/2013
Illinois Policy Institute Executive Vice President, Kristina Rasmussen, joined WCIA-3‘s Steve Staeger to discuss the lack of grant monitoring in Illinois. Almost half the state’s budget goes to grants. Some go to smaller government bodies, others to non-profits. The money is supposed to be spent on good causes, things to help people. But, in recent...

137 tax increases proposed in 62 Illinois counties

By Brian Costin
03/21/2013
AFP-Illinois, the Illinois chapter of Americans for Prosperity, is gearing up for the April 9 consolidated local elections. The group recently launched a new website designed to inform Illinois residents of local referendums that could cause their taxes to go up and are urging people to fight local tax hikes. In a recent newsletter announcing the initiative for...

Khan Academy launches classroom pilot program in Idaho

03/21/2013
More than 10,000 students across Idaho will be using Khan Academy, the successful Internet education organization, in their classroom this coming school year. Khan Academy’s videos – which span a variety of subjects, from Renaissance art to game theory – have allowed many teachers to “flip” classrooms by letting students to listen to lectures at home and work on homework...

ACTION ALERT: House Pensions Committee to hear pension reform bill

By Jane McEnaney
03/20/2013
At 3 p.m. Thursday, March 21, the House Personnel and Pensions Committee will hear House Bill 3303, sponsored by state Reps. Tom Morrison, R-Palatine, and Jeanne Ives, R-Wheaton. HB 3303 is the Illinois Policy Institute-backed pension reform plan that actually fixes the problem. Real pension reform means: Implementing a stable, predictable and manageable defined contribution system. Eliminating...