Illinois

Private Sector Educators, Public School Students

By Collin Hitt
02/27/2009
There are more than two million students enrolled in Illinois’ public schools.  Private providers — firms and individual contractors — play a pivotal role in helping schools to educate those children. No district can perfectly predict the future needs of their students.  Nor can every district maintain a permanent staff capable of meeting the specific...

Making Patients Wait for Cancer Treatment: The Certificate of Need Program

By Chris Andriesen
09/17/2008
The Problem Imagine for a moment that your father, brother or husband had prostate cancer.  That is bad enough, of course, but now imagine that they had to unnecessarily wait in long lines to get the most advanced and least invasive treatment possible, or perhaps, not receive this better treatment at all.  Or imagine it...

A Liberty Agenda for Illinois

08/21/2008
Executive Summary Every day, the state of Illinois is in a competition with 49 other states and the rest of the world.  The rewards for succeeding?  More businesses, more jobs, more resources, and a better place to live for all citizens.  Unfortunately, the Illinois economy is lagging behind—and unless we turn away from the government-centered...

A Survey and Overview of Privatization in Illinois’ Public Schools

By Collin Hitt
07/24/2008
Executive Summary Illinois has 871 school districts.  Each one is supposed to efficiently provide a high-quality education to all students who enroll in its schools.  It is no secret that many districts have struggled with providing a high-quality education.  Others have struggled to do so efficiently. A number of reforms exist to help school districts...

Health Care Mandate Mania

By Chris Andriesen
06/25/2008
What to do about 47 million uninsured nationwide and 1.4 million Illinoisans without insurance?  This has become a central issue in the debate over health care.  In recent years, mandates, both on individuals and businesses, have emerged as a popular solution among policymakers to address the chronic problem of the uninsured and uncompensated care. Last...

Why Health Care Costs So Much and What We Can Do About It

By Chris Andriesen
06/16/2008
WHY HEALTH CARE COSTS SO MUCH AND WHAT WE CAN DO ABOUT IT (Springfield, Ill.) Government intervention in the economy, whenever it is tried, often comes with unintended consequences that make matters worse.  The arena of health care is no exception. Over recent decades, the debate over what has caused health care costs to rise so...

A Stimulating Idea: The Case For An Illinois Gas Tax Suspension

05/20/2008
Critics say that the effect of suspending the Illinois Gas Tax will be minimal and would deprive state government of needed taxes to build highways and roads. They are wrong on both counts. Lowering the gas sales tax from 6.25% to 1.25% (HB6318) will make a material difference in the lives of Illinois residents in...

2008 Illinois Piglet Book

By Chris Andriesen
04/09/2008
We’ve joined with Citizens Against Government Waste to put together the book that Springfield doesn’t want you to read, highlighting over $686 million in wasteful spending. Highlights include: $4 million for a Ford Technical Training Center in Chicago Heights $1 million for the Illinois film office in Chicago $920,000 for the Chicago Aerospace Education Initiative $550,000 for the conservation of pheasants...

Opening the books in Illinois: Basic transparency for better government

04/03/2008
Do Illinois citizens deserve to know where their tax dollars go?  Less than ten years ago, a state audit found that many of our public officials didn’t think so.  More than two-thirds of requests for public documents, the study found, were turned away at local offices.  More than a quarter of them were denied altogether....
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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...

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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