Jim Oberweis

Despite the many problems Illinois faces, there is much to be thankful for

By Matt Paprocki, Jane McEnaney
11/28/2013
Working at free market think tank in Illinois, it’s easy to get discouraged by bad policies. Despite the many problems Illinois faces, there is much to be thankful for. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, here are some of the things we are most thankful for this year: Illinois’ flat income tax. Illinois’ current flat tax...

TAGS: fair tax, flat tax, income tax, Jeanne Ives, Joe Sosnowski, Kyle McCarter, Matt Murphy, Patti Bellock, Ron Sandack, Tom Morrison

Illinois lawmakers who have signed anti-progressive tax resolution

By Jane McEnaney
10/18/2013
As the Illinois General Assembly heads back to Springfield for veto session next week, here is a quick look at what elected officials have signed on to the Illinois Policy Institute’s legislative efforts to prevent lawmakers from amending the state’s constitution to permit a progressive income tax hike, which would increase taxes on 85 percent...

TAGS: fair tax, flat tax, graduated income tax, ILGA: Illinois General Assembly, progressive income tax

Quinn signs 70 mph speed limit law for Illinois

By Brian Costin
08/19/2013
Gov. Quinn signed into law Senate Bill 2356, which increases speed limits on rural highways to 70 miles per hour. The limit increase only affects highways outside of urban areas. Highways within Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, Madison, McHenry, St. Clair, and Will counties will be able to opt out through local ordinances. According to the Chicago Tribune:...

TAGS: speed limit

Credit union offers interest-free loans to Illinois lawmakers during pay freeze

By Hilary Gowins
08/04/2013
Illinois lawmakers stopped getting paid on Thursday. So did Gov. Pat Quinn, who on July 10 used his line-item veto power to halt lawmaker pay until the General Assembly reaches an agreement on pension reform. But a Rantoul-based credit union has come to their aid, offering interest-free loans to state legislators. According to the State Journal-Register,...

Five reasons why the university pension plan won’t solve Illinois’ crisis

By Benjamin VanMetre
07/19/2013
The Institute of Government and Public Affairs, or IGPA, a university-based research organization, recently developed a pension plan for Illinois. That plan was presented at a pension conference committee hearing earlier this month. But it’s not the type of reform Illinois’ needs. The IGPA plan fails to solve Illinois’ pension problem. Here are five reasons...

Little movement during Illinois’ first pension committee meeting

By Chris Andriesen
06/29/2013
by Jane McEnaney On June 27, the Illinois General Assembly’s conference committee on pension reform met for the first time in Chicago. All 10 members of the bipartisan, bicameral committee were present. The committee met for five straight hours, hearing testimony from: Ty Fahner, President, Civic Committee of The Commercial Club of Chicago Jerry Stermer, Acting Director...

Pension plan developed by universities fails to solve Illinois’ pension crisis

By Benjamin VanMetre
06/20/2013
A six-point pension plan created by the Institute of Government and Public Affairs, or IGPA, fails to solve Illinois’ pension problem. That’s because the plan, Senate Bill 2591, maintains the state’s unmanageable defined benefit plan for current employees. It requires all new employees to participate in a hybrid defined benefit and defined contribution pension plan, and...
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Chicago Forward 2026: A pro-growth plan to end city budget deficits

Chicago’s $1.15 billion projected budget gap is the latest in a decades-long string of structural deficits. Making Chicago’s high taxes worse is not the solution.

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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