Illinois

Supreme Court should strike ObamaCare mandate

03/22/2012
On Tuesday, March 27, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on the most controversial part of ObamaCare: the “individual mandate,” which requires that everyone not otherwise covered purchase government-approved health insurance. The government claims that the individual mandate is constitutional because it falls under Congress’s power to regulate interstate commerce. In an amicus brief filed by the...

Illinois’ future under ObamaCare

By Jonathan Ingram
03/22/2012
On Monday, the Supreme Court will begin 3 days of oral arguments on the constitutionality of ObamaCare. The case pits the Obama administration against 26 states, and could be one of the biggest federalism showdowns the Court has seen in years. The case centers primarily around two key components of the law: the individual mandate and the...

Illinoisans reject tax hikes when given the chance

By Mark Cavers
03/21/2012
On Tuesday, voters across Illinois rejected local ballot initiatives to increase their taxes. When given the choice, voters in the majority of cases told government to tighten its belt instead of increasing their taxes. Here are a few highlights: Nombre generico zyloprim In Morgan and Washington counties, voters rejected 1 percent sales tax increases. In...

Sunshine week reveals lack of election information on Illinois websites

By Chris Andriesen
03/16/2012
The week of March 11-17 is the annual “Sunshine Week” where good government groups across the country work “to promote a dialogue about the importance of open government and freedom of information.” The Illinois Policy Institute supports Sunshine Week and works year round on promoting government transparency and accountability on the state and local levels. With...

Illinois to Congress: Don’t bail us out

By Collin Hitt
03/14/2012
President Obama and Congressional leaders will receive a letter from Illinois this week. Washington is urged to not bail Illinois, or any other state, out of debt. Last May, Senator Mark Kirk introduced a resolution in the U.S. Senate to put end federal bailouts of states. His reasons were simple and clear. The Federal government...

Giving states the flexibility to fix Medicaid

By Jonathan Ingram
03/13/2012
By now, you’ve probably read the Institute’s alternate vision for Illinois. Our plan would return $7 billion to taxpayers, grow the economy and put us back on the path to prosperity. Fundamentally restructuring the state’s Medicaid program is a key part of that plan. Despite record levels of spending, the current Medicaid program is failing the...

Giving states the flexibility to fix Medicaid

By Jonathan Ingram
03/13/2012
By now, you’ve probably read the Institute’s alternate vision for Illinois. Our plan would return $7 billion to taxpayers, grow the economy and put us back on the path to prosperity. Fundamentally restructuring the state’s Medicaid program is a key part of that plan. Despite record levels of spending, the current Medicaid program is failing the...

Budget Solutions 2013: Innovation for Illinois

By Jonathan Ingram
03/08/2012
This is the Illinois Policy Institute’s fourth annual alternative vision for Illinois. In this report, we’ve charted a path that significantly reduces the state’s backlog of bills without borrowing and without new taxes, while meeting its pension liabilities. In addition, the state returns billions of dollars to taxpayers by repealing the January 2011 tax hikes....