Illinois

Good Ideas from Other States: #1 Reduce Spending

By Chris Andriesen
11/30/2010
by Wesley Fox Over the last two years, many states have faced large budget shortfalls due to declines in revenue and continued spending at unaffordable rates. Some have dramatically cutback spending to balance their budgets, while others have raised taxes. The CATO Institute’s Fiscal Policy Report Card provides an excellent assessment of the responses of U.S. governors...

Cartoon Blogging: The State’s Ticking Time Bomb

By Chris Andriesen
11/30/2010
by Ashley Muchow Found this cartoon from Jack Higgins of the Chicago Sun-Times from a couple weeks back. Unfortunately, its “ticking time bomb” metaphor is all too accurate a description of Illinois’s state pension fund. See the Institute’s proposed solution to address the state’s $83 billion unfunded pension liability.

Some Support Letting States Go Bankrupt

By Chris Andriesen
11/29/2010
by Wesley Fox Illinois along with California have massive budget shortfalls in 2011.  In order to help states deal with budget crises, University of Pennsylvania Law Professor David Skeel argues states should be able to go into bankruptcy.  Local governments have been able to declare bankruptcy in order to settle debts since the 1930s, but states have...

Work on Industrial Arts Glass Studio Costs Illinois Taxpayers $71k

By Chris Andriesen
11/26/2010
by Wesley Fox According to the Department of Commerce and Economic OpportunityGrant Tracker website, the Little Black Pearl Workshop received a $71,000 grant to help complete the industrial arts glass studio, located at 1060 East 47th Street in Chicago.  Specifically the funds were to be “used to complete the installation of a hood and exhaust system...

Failure to Pay Prison Vendors Places Correctional Officers at Risk

By Chris Andriesen
11/24/2010
by Wesley Fox According to the Chicago Tribune, the Illinois Department of Corrections is $95 million behind on its bills.  Many prison vendors have not been paid in months. Some have stopped extending credit to correction centers, and two havestopped doing business with the Department of Corrections altogether.  If Illinois does not start paying its bills on time, more...

While Illinois Considers Raising Taxes, Neighbors Plan to Cut

By Chris Andriesen
11/23/2010
by Wesley Fox While several of Illinois’s neighbors are moving towards cutting taxes to help promote economic growth and job creation, Governor Quinn is pushing hard for an increase in the individual income tax rate to help “solve” Illinois’s budget problems.  If he is successful, Illinois may be the only state in the region that will...

Amazon Tax Could Put a Damper on Holiday Shopping

By Chris Andriesen
11/23/2010
by Ashley Muchow The holidays are just around the corner–the smell of turkey and apple pie are in the air. As you begin documenting the expansive list of gifts to get grandma, aunt Carol, or your beloved grandson, consider this: Illinois legislators are considering a bill that would make shopping online for these loved ones...

‘Build America Bonds’ Building Debt?

By Chris Andriesen
11/22/2010
by Ashley Muchow Steve Malanga’s article in the WSJ today covers a topic that is both timely and closely connected to Illinois’s deteriorating fiscal condition. One measure about to reach the lame-duck Congress floor is a call to extend Build America Bonds (BABs)–bonds used by states and municipalities to accrue nearly $160 billion in new debt...

Senate Forms Committees to Study Workers’ Compensation and Medicaid Reform

By Chris Andriesen
11/18/2010
by Wesley Fox Senate President John Cullerton announced today that he will form committees to study workers compensation and Medicaid reform, which are initiatives Republicans promoted during the campaign.  The committees would advance legislation for a possible vote in January,according to the Sun-Times. Illinois’s workers’ compensation requirements are costly and discourage employers from hiring or even doing business...

Spotlight on Spending #17: Nationwide Executive Officer Salary Comparison

By Chris Andriesen
11/17/2010
The Problem Previous Institute reports have shown how officials within Illinois’s legislative and judicial branches are paid significantly higher than national averages. Illinois state representatives and senators earn a base salary of $67,836—the fifth-highest legislator salary in the country. Only California, Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania pay their legislators more. Judges serving on the state’s...
Load More

FAQ: How the federal scholarship program would help Illinois students

Illinois students could soon benefit from scholarship money to help them find a tutor, attend ACT or SAT prep sessions, pay tuition, get special education services or assist with other academic needs. That will happen in Illinois only if Gov. J.B. Pritzker lets the state’s schoolchildren benefit from the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit program, established...

View Report

Report Archive

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