Illinois

Are forced union dues Constitutional?

By Paul Kersey
06/21/2012
There are close to 400,000 government employees in Illinois, and millions more across the country, who are forced to pay union dues or agency fees in order to keep their jobs. But now a majority of the United States Supreme Court has signaled that they are ready to rethink the entire thing. The millions of...

Gov. Quinn signs Medicaid package that fails to deliver

By Jonathan Ingram
06/14/2012
Earlier this afternoon, Gov. Quinn signed the “Medicaid reform” package. As you may recall, Quinn called on lawmakers to reduce Medicaid spending by $2.7 billion in his February budget address. The Institute offered a 59 point plan to help lawmakers hit that target. Our plan would have reduced Medicaid spending by $2.7 billion without cutting reimbursement rates...

Local pension accountability doesn’t require higher taxes

By Ted Dabrowski
05/27/2012
For decades, the state has subsidized the pension costs of teachers working for local school districts. The practice requires the state to pay the employer share of teacher benefits that accrue each year, even though teachers are not state employees. That set-up has destroyed spending accountability across the state. Local school districts have been doling...

Illinois House votes to raise taxes

By Jonathan Ingram
05/25/2012
The Illinois House just passed SB 2194, which imposes new taxes on tobacco products and hospitals. We’ve previously explained why cigarette taxes can’t fix the structural problems in the Medicaid program. A total of eighteen Republicans signed on to the tax hike, including Mike Bost, Dan Brady, Franco Coladipietro, Jim Durkin, Kent Gaffney, Renée Kosel, David Leitch, Donald Moffitt, Rosemary Mulligan,Chris Nybo, JoAnn Osmond, Robert Pritchard, Dennis Reboletti, Chapin Rose, Jim Sacia, Darlene...
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Taxed out: 10 reforms to stop Illinois from losing people and jobs

Illinois’ tax code stands in the way of the state’s economic competitiveness. The combination of high tax burdens and a poor tax structure contributes to the loss of jobs and investment to other states. From a place of former economic dominance, Illinois now ranks 45th in gross state product (GSP) growth over the past decade...

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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