Michael Madigan

Illinois corruption watch, July 2014

By Brian Costin
08/09/2014
The bad news keeps piling up for Illinoisans. Illinois Policy’s “corruption watch” blog series hit a new high in the month of July with nearly 100 corruption-related stories. Chicago and Springfield are the two cities most synonymous with the state’s corruption woes. Unsurprisingly, both cities dominated headlines with the top two corruption stories of the...

More inspectors general necessary to fight Illinois’ corruption woes

By Brian Costin
07/12/2014
For far too long Illinois politicians haven’t done enough to address a public corruption epidemic that has wreaked havoc on the state’s image and the pocketbooks of its taxpayers. Illinois consistently ranks in the top five states for public corruption, and a recent study estimated the cost of corruption in Illinois at nearly $1.4 billion...

Illinois corruption watch, June 2014

By Brian Costin, Anthony Trania
07/09/2014
Unfortunately for taxpayers, June was a groundbreaking month for corruption in Illinois. In June alone, there were reports of 85 corruption-related stories in the state. Some of the record-breaking highlights include the following: For the first time in 33 years, the Illinois Legislative Audit Commission exercised its subpoena powers in the issuance of a subpoena...

It’s time to hold Illinois lawmakers accountable

By Donovan Griffith
07/05/2014
Illinois Policy Action is launching a campaign to hold Illinois legislators accountable to their promise of letting the 2011 income tax hike sunset on schedule. In the spring legislative session, politicians strongly stated their opposition to extending this massive income tax increase on Illinois families. Now, Illinois Policy Action will be asking legislators to sign...

Chart of the Week: What ObamaCare grant paid state’s Democrat insiders

By Naomi Lopez Bauman
06/18/2014
If you have any doubt that political cronyism isn’t alive and well in Illinois, look no further than an ObamaCare scandal that broke late last week. Investigations by the Associated Press and Crain’s found that a subcontractor to a $33 million ObamaCare grant was billing at $282 per hour. Turns out the subcontractor is owned...

TAGS: cronyism, Lisa Madigan, Mike Madigan, Pat Quinn, Richard Daley

Political insiders receive multi-million-dollar contract to promote ObamaCare in Illinois

By Naomi Lopez Bauman
06/13/2014
Get Covered Illinois has been hit by two scandals in as many days. A recent Associated Press (AP) investigation into a $33 million federal grant to promote ObamaCare in Illinois revealed that “More than 90 people, including executives from the firm and its subcontractors, billed at least $270 an hour for salary and overhead during...

State Rep. Derrick Smith, D-Chicago, convicted of taking $7,000 bribe

By Brian Costin
06/10/2014
A federal jury has found state Rep. Derrick Smith, D-Chicago, guilty of taking a $7,000 cash bribe in exchange for writing a state grant recommendation letter in 2012. Under state law, Smith automatically loses his office with the felony bribery conviction. This is the second time Smith has lost his office. Smith was originally expelled from...

TAGS: bribery, Chicago, corruption, Derrick Smith, ILGA: Illinois General Assembly

Illinois Corruption Watch, May 2014

By Brian Costin
06/04/2014
In completing our second month of the new “Illinois Corruption Watch” project, we are shocked at the volume of corruption stories being reported across the state. In just two months we have found reports of 101 different corruption-related stories; 45 in April and 56 in May. It’s no wonder Illinois citizens have by far the...

Madigan’s millionaire tax returns

By Naomi Lopez Bauman
05/22/2014
House Speaker Mike Madigan couldn’t get a progressive tax hike on the November ballot. His next effort, to get an extension of the tax hike, has failed so far. Now, he is back with yet another money-grab scheme. Madigan has proposed an advisory referendum on the fall ballot proposing a millionaire surcharge. (An advisory referendum...

TAGS: millionaire tax

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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