by Brian Costin Unlike criminal asset forfeiture, with civil forfeiture, a property owner need not be found guilty of a crime—or even charged—to permanently lose her cash, car, home or other property, a system which creates perverse incentives for law enforcement and jeopardizes a citizen’s property rights. The Institute for Justice recently released a 50-state report...

by Kate Piercy The News-Gazette sounded a warning today with regards to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), reacting to the efforts to weaken FOIA some have already attempted: The new Freedom of Information law was barely two weeks old when legislators amended it the first time in January, repealing a provision that made evaluations of public school...

The Problem Around this time each year, Illinois residents start making plans to attend the DuQuoin and Illinois State Fairs. But these state fairs are costing taxpayers much more than their ticket prices suggest. These two state fairs have a long record of their expenditures far outweighing their revenues. Between fiscal years 2001 and 2009,...

by Will Compernolle The State of Illinois hired 910 registered nurses in fiscal year 2008 for $62,742,469 in combined total wages. The average salary was $68,947 while the highest paid registered nurse made $188,009. The Bureau of Labor Statistics website shows the mean salary for a registered nurse in Illinois was $65,440. Our IllinoisOpenGov.org website distinguishes between “Registered Nurse...

by Kristin Nisbet A recent piece in The American Spectator by RiShawn Biddle, chronicles Illinois’ less than perfect past.  Biddle explains that as things have gotten hairy for former Illinois governor Blagojevich, the prospect of what’s to come for either Quinn or Brady does not promise “sunshine, lollipops and rainbows.” But even if he lands in prison,...

by Will Compernolle The State of Illinois hired 22 receptionists in fiscal year 2008 for $657,353.22 in combined total wages. Of the 22, 14 were titled “receptionist,” 4 were titled “clerk typist/receptionist,” 2 were titled “office receptionist,” and 1 was titled “receptionist-secretary.” The highest paid receptionist made $49,972 while the average receptionist took home a...

by Will Compernolle The Office of the State Appellate Defender hired six social historians in fiscal year 2008 for $278,278 in combined total wages. The average salary was $46,379.67 while the highest paid social historian made $57,569. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the mean salary for a historian in Illinois was $45,900. A description for...