Pennsylvania

Shrinking the Illinois Senate

By Brian Costin
10/08/2013
With 42,336 elected officials as of 1992, Illinois has nearly 12,000 more state and local elected politicians than any other state. Amazingly, with this unprecedented wealth of legislators Illinois hasn’t been able to adequately address some of its most dire problems. Illinois still ranks near the bottom of the nation in numerous key economic indicators,...

TAGS: term limits

Medicaid plagued with wasteful spending

By Jonathan Ingram
07/16/2013
The Medicaid welfare program has long been plagued with wasteful spending. The U.S. Government Accountability Office designates Medicaid as a high-risk program, largely because it is “particularly vulnerable to fraud, waste, abuse and improper payments” and has inadequate oversight to prevent wasteful spending. Indeed, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS, reports an improper...

Pat Quinn is fourth-highest paid governor in the country

By Hilary Gowins
07/10/2013
At a time when the state of Illinois has more than $100 billion in unfunded pension liabilities, more than $6 billion in unpaid bills and is coming off of its 13th credit downgrade since 2009, it might shock Illinoisans to hear that Gov. Quinn is one of the highest-paid governors in the country. Gov. Pat Quinn’s salary is $177,412. According...

Business tax credit offers more options for school choice

03/12/2013
A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog post about how Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, introduced a bill that would give tax credits to corporations if they donate to nonprofit organizations that provide scholarships to students in low-income families for private school tuition. Now, state Rep. Michael Connelly, R-Wheaton, has introduced a parallel bill in the Illinois General Assembly....

AFSCME, collective bargaining, Quinn and the fine line

By Paul Kersey
12/18/2012
It is a basic axiom of government collective bargaining: If you have to bargain with a union about anything, you are liable to have to bargain with them about everything, and that includes things that you aren’t supposed to bargain about at all. This why collective bargaining with government employees is such a problem: Even...

States can block the federal government’s enforcement of critical portions of ObamaCare

By Chris Andriesen
12/05/2012
Diane Cohen General Counsel Liberty Justice Center In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in NFIB v. Sebelius last June, and with the prospects for repeal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act dashed by the 2012 elections, key states – including Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Utah and Virginia...

Can you wait four years to get a job in Illinois?

By Lawrence McQuillan
08/21/2012
Illinois’ July unemployment rate hit 8.9 percent, up from 8.7 percent in June, the second consecutive monthly increase. Thirty-nine states have a lower unemployment rate than Illinois. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Illinois’ labor force is roughly 6.5 million people. More than half a million of them are unemployed. This is a...

Want basic information on the state’s workforce?

By Mark Cavers
03/30/2012
On Thursday, the Illinois Senate passedAi??a bill sponsored by Senator Brady that would compile information on employee characteristics, compensation and mobility. Cheap compazine side This is an important piece of legislation because approximately one-third of the stateai??i??s budget goes towards compensation. Yet, simple top-line data on the labor forceAi??is very difficult and in some instances...
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Illinois Forward 2027: How to fix Illinois’ state finances

Pro-growth policies and fiscal responsibility can ensure Illinois’ long-term budget health. Here’s how state leaders can do it.

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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