Illinois

Good News! Three bills pass the Illinois Senate

By Mark Cavers
03/30/2012
Three important bills passed out of the Illinois Senate on Thursday and will now be considered by the House.Ai??My colleague Amanda outlined some bad news coming out of the House, but in the Senate the passage of three bills is good news for people committed to saving Illinois. Each bill would change the structure of...

Want basic information on the state’s workforce?

By Mark Cavers
03/30/2012
On Thursday, the Illinois Senate passedAi??a bill sponsored by Senator Brady that would compile information on employee characteristics, compensation and mobility. Cheap compazine side This is an important piece of legislation because approximately one-third of the stateai??i??s budget goes towards compensation. Yet, simple top-line data on the labor forceAi??is very difficult and in some instances...

Comparison of Quinn’s Budget, House Budget and Budget Solutions 2013

03/29/2012
Today the Illinois House adopted a budget framework for fiscal year 2013. The framework had bipartisan sponsorship, but unfortunately adopts an overall spending target that is still far too high. What is good about the budget is that it acknowledges the overwhelming burden of the unsustainable Medicaid program and takes steps to slow the growth of the...

Day 3: ObamaCare at the Supreme Court

03/28/2012
Today was the final marathon session of oral arguments over ObamaCare. It began this morning with the question of what to do with the rest of the law if the individual mandate is struck down, a very real possibility after yesterday's hearing.

Illinois should wave goodbye to NCLB opt out

By Chris Andriesen
03/27/2012
by Michael Wille Last month, Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan continued the White House talking point of “We Can’t Wait” when it comes to stalled Congressional action on education. Together with the president, he announced that waivers to the No Child Left Behind Act would be granted to ten different states. These waivers are...

Day 1: ObamaCare at the Supreme Court

By Jonathan Ingram
03/26/2012
Today was a big day. This morning, the Supreme Court began oral arguments over the constitutionality of ObamaCare. You can preview those arguments and see how the law will affect Illinois by clicking here. While the most important questions will be heard tomorrow and Wednesday, today’s argument was notable because the Justices seemed in general agreement...