How a school district cut chronic absenteeism by 65%

By Rich Witzel

06/30/2026

Nearly 1-in-4 students were chronically absent in 2023 at New Trier High School. That dropped by 65% after reforms were implemented.

This Christmas, property taxes are robbing the McCallisters

By Brendan Bakala

12/17/2017

Since 1990, the owners of 671 Lincoln Avenue have paid more than $783,000 in property taxes when adjusting for inflation.

TAGS: local government, property taxes

Unpaid sick leave spikes Illinois teachers’ pension benefits

By Ted Dabrowski, John Klingner

03/08/2017

While sick leave is necessary for working teachers, letting unpaid sick leave accumulate for the purpose of boosting pensions is an expensive perk that taxpayers cannot afford.

Education finance solutions

By Ted Dabrowski, John Klingner

02/09/2017

Making Illinois’ system fairer through pension reform, consolidation and accountability to parents and students.

School district consolidation a step toward much-needed property tax relief

By Ted Dabrowski

04/28/2016

Illinois has 859 local school districts – the fifth-most in the nation.

TAGS: education, property taxes, school district consolidation

Illinois school district consolidation provides path to efficiency, lower tax burdens

By Ted Dabrowski, John Klingner

04/22/2016

Nearly 25 percent of Illinois school districts serve just one school, and over one-third of all school districts have fewer than 600 students.

Local Transparency Project

07/17/2014

The Local Transparency Project is an encouraging example of a successful grassroots effort and a great resource for citizen activists looking to organize and mobilize.- Sunlight Foundation For democracy to work citizens need access to the information about what government does. Proactive transparency is the best way to educate society about the actions of government....

Village of Glencoe Sets State Record on Transparency

01/31/2011

With recent improvements to the Village of Glencoe's website achieved a 92.5 out of 100 possible points on our transparency test, the highest score weve ever recorded in llinois.

New Trier Township Area Transparency Results, 4 out of 25 Pass

07/28/2010

by Brian Costin An audit of the New Trier Township area in northern Cook County revealed only 4 of 25 local government agencies graded received a passing grade on basic online transparency guidelines. The “Local Transparency Project”, a project of the non-partisan Illinois Policy Institute, consists of two separate transparency audits 6 weeks apart on 10 different...

New Trier Township Area Transparency Results, 4 out of 25 Pass

By Brian Costin

07/28/2010

An audit of the New Trier Township area in northern Cook County revealed only 4 of 25 local government agencies graded received a passing grade on basic online transparency guidelines. The “Local Transparency Project”, a project of the non-partisan Illinois Policy Institute, consists of two separate transparency audits 6 weeks apart on 10 different online transparency...

New Trier Township

How a school district cut chronic absenteeism by 65%

This Christmas, property taxes are robbing the McCallisters

Unpaid sick leave spikes Illinois teachers’ pension benefits

Education finance solutions

School district consolidation a step toward much-needed property tax relief

Illinois school district consolidation provides path to efficiency, lower tax burdens

Local Transparency Project

Village of Glencoe Sets State Record on Transparency

New Trier Township Area Transparency Results, 4 out of 25 Pass

New Trier Township Area Transparency Results, 4 out of 25 Pass

Pathway to a Profession: How Apprenticeships Could Reshape Illinois’ Beauty Service Industry

Report Archive

Diana Graham

Process for unionizing non-state workers raises red flags

CBS Chicago: Illinois’ highest-paid superintendent receives $400K per year to oversee 1,200 students