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Meet the politicians getting rich off Chicago’s property-tax scheme

By Austin Berg

10/16/2015

Flawed property valuations and the process required to fix them are a cash cow for law firms, including those of House Speaker Mike Madigan, Chicago Alderman Ed Burke and Illinois Senate President John Cullerton.

TAGS: Chicago, corruption, cronyism, Ed Burke, John Cullerton, Mike Madigan, property taxes

CPS pensions: From retirement security to political slush fund

By Ted Dabrowski, John Klingner

10/06/2015

CPS leaders have brought the teachers’ pension fund to the brink of insolvency. Now they’re counting on taxpayers to clean up the mess.

Chicago: 7th most expensive city in the world

By Amy Korte

09/18/2015

Driven by a costly tax burden, Chicago’s high cost of goods and services lands the Windy City in the top 10 for the most expensive 71 cities across the world, according to a new survey by UBS.

TAGS: Chicago, sales tax

Chicago’s food-cart ban costs revenue, jobs

By Michael Lucci, Hilary Gowins

09/09/2015

Chicago’s ban on food carts is costing the city jobs and revenue. The city has fallen behind its peers: Street vending from food carts is already legal in 23 of the 25 largest cities in the U.S. The Illinois Policy Institute conducted a survey of nearly 200 Chicago food-cart street vendors to assess the social...

Madigan comes up short on SB 1229 override

By Hilary Gowins

09/03/2015

House Speaker Mike Madigan said on multiple occasions he had the votes to override the governor’s veto.

TAGS: AFSCME: American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, Bruce Rauner, Jack Franks, Ken Dunkin, Mike Madigan, SB 1229, Scott Drury

Illinois’ occupational licensing laws undermine ex-offender rehabilitation

By Bryant Jackson-Green

08/03/2015

To get ex-offenders back to work and reduce crime, Illinois needs to lift restrictions on the right to earn a living.

Suspending state energy assistance opens door for reform in Illinois

06/09/2015

With the right reforms, Illinois can provide energy assistance to people who need it without using scarce state dollars.

TAGS: State Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program

Corruption Watch: April 2015

By Shawn Tonge

05/08/2015

April saw two major players in Illinois education ensnared in charges of cronyism, among more than 60 other corruption-related stories.

TAGS: good government

Corruption watch: March 2015

By Shawn Tonge

04/08/2015

April showers bring May flowers, but all March gave us was 53 new corruption stories in Illinois.

TAGS: good government

How occupational licensing blocks path to success for ex-offenders

By Bryant Jackson-Green

04/07/2015

Nearly 2 in 5 workers in the U.S. need government permission just to do their jobs.

TAGS: criminal justice reform, employment, jobs, licensing, occupational licensing

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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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