by Kate Piercy The Illinois Policy Institute has highlighted various instances where Illinois government employees are paid above national averages and much of the time land in the highest earners rankings. Our legislators, allexecutive officers, including the governor, and judges, make some of the highest salaries compared to counterparts nationwide. The Wall Street Journal today discussed President Obama’s recent...

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...

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.

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...

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...

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...