Massachusetts

Digital Learning in Illinois

By Chris Andriesen
04/26/2011
by Collin Hitt The Chicago Tribune carried a good story over the weekend about online learning in the Chicago area. Technology-led learning will be playing a larger role in education in the area. Included was a quote from yours truly, regarding the uneven spread of online learning statewide. “There is no real, robust, state-led effort in online...

Illinois Teachers, the Most Comfortable in America

10/28/2010
by Collin Hitt Teacherportal.com, an online resource for teachers and would-be teachers, has created a Salary Comfort Score Index that ranks each state. Illinois public school teachers always rank among the country’s highest-paid, but what standard of living does that provide once other factors are accounted for. A word from Teacherportal on its methods: The...

Health Care Freedom on CO Ballot

08/27/2010
by Kristina Rasmussen Following in Missouri’s footsteps, a new citizens amendment has qualified for the Colorado ballot this fall. Colorado’s “Right to Health Care Choice” amendment — also known as Amendment 63 — would: Write into the Colorado Constitution that the State of Colorado cannot force its citizens to purchase a public or private health insurance product, either...

With Government-Centric Health Insurance Children Lose

07/26/2010
by Mark Cavers The Associated Press reports that some major health insurers, including Florida providers Blue Cross and AETNA, will stop offering certain types of insurance for kids because of regulations passed in the Administrations’ health insurance bill. The decisions stem from insurance companies’ fear “that parents will wait until kids get sick to sign them...

Spotlight on Spending #8: Illinois Legislators Among Highest Paid in Nation

By Kate Campaigne Piercy
07/22/2010
The Problem Although facing a serious budget deficit, Illinois legislators remain among the best compensated in the nation. Today, Illinois state representatives and senators earn a base salary of $67,836—the fifth-highest legislator salary in the country. Only California, Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania pay their legislators more. Illinois state representatives and senators earn around 47...

Minimum Wage: Hurting More than Helping

By Kate Campaigne Piercy
06/30/2010
The Problem Illinois’s minimum wage, already high at $8.00 an hour, is set to increase by another 25 cents on July 1, 2010. This ill-timed hike in the minimum wage will hurt low-skilled workers and the small business owners who want to employ them. With each of Illinois’s neighboring states having a lower minimum wage,...