Indiana

Spotlight on Spending #12: Taxpayer Tab for DCEO

By Chris Andriesen
09/08/2010
Problem In a previous “Spotlight on Spending” analysis, the Illinois Policy Institute focused on the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity’s questionable grants, which range anywhere from giving money to help celebrate a Canadian 4th of July, increasing the awareness of Chicago and Illinois in Ireland, providing a fraternity with money to use solar power,...

Indiana: The right way to cope with declining tax revenue

07/21/2010
by Kristina Rasmussen Budget & Tax News (one of my go-to publications for state fiscal policy news) features a great interview with Indiana Budget Director Christopher Ruhl. It’s refreshing and encouraging, and Illinois state leaders could learn a thing or two from it: Gov. Mitch Daniels (R), who took office in 2005, insists on fiscal discipline. One of his...

Jumping on the Moving Truck

By Chris Andriesen
06/16/2010
An interactive migration map from Forbes helps us understand Illinois's population migration.

Gauging Illinois’s Performance on a Critical Core Service

01/31/2010
Residents of Illinois demand clear and safe roads. State and local agencies must budget and prepare for the winter season, and then perform up to certain standards when the snow comes. Otherwise, we risk losing money, time and lives.

Tribune Letter to the Editor: ‘Dreadful’ Condition

01/13/2010
The Institute's Kristina Rasmussen has a letter to the editor featured in the Chicago Tribune. She points out how, despite being nearly bankrupt, our state government continues to grow, adding over 2 thousand employees.

This Bid’s for You! How online reverse auction saves taxpayers millions

By Kate Campaigne Piercy
08/26/2009
Problem Illinois needs more cost-efficient, quality-driven spending activity at the local and state levels of government. Illinois’s state budget has exploded from $24.7 billion in 2004 to $32.2 billion in 2009, increasing nearly 30 percent over just five years. The state needs better spending practices, more transparency in the procurement process, and a tool to...

Putting the “Laboratory of the States” to Work in Illinois

By Chris Andriesen
07/20/2009
“The way to get good ideas is to get lots of ideas, and throw the bad ones away.” So said Linus Pauling, the two-time Nobel Prize winner for chemistry. A lot of ideas have been suggested to solve Illinois’s budget shortfall, and it’s time to separate the good from the bad. According to the National...
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Pathway to a Profession: How Apprenticeships Could Reshape Illinois’ Beauty Service Industry

Occupational licensing requirements present one of the steepest barriers to low-income Illinoisans starting careers in beauty services. Illinois requires anyone seeking to become a barber, cosmetologist, nail technician or hair braider to obtain a state license, essentially a permission slip to work. Unlike 45 other states, Illinois offers only one pathway to licensure for each...

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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