Republican Party

Pension Reform, Illinois’s Future

05/26/2011
(UPDATED: action in House pension committee. See below) by Collin Hitt A bold proposal to reform government employee pensions has been put forward, Senate Bill 512. It is the broadest and best legislation yet introduced by legislative leaders hoping to address the long term debt, and insolvency, of Illinois’s public employee pension funds. Illinois taxpayers...

Of Coffers and Kiosks: Where Are Your Tax Dollars Being Spent?

05/25/2011
by Alex Miller Today, businesses and jobs are leaving Illinois, thousands of students are trapped in underperforming schools, and the state unemployment rate is 8.7 percent.  In such conditions, Democrats and Republicans alike should be calling on their state government to be responsible in determining where to allocate scarce state resources. Yet, during this present malaise of economic...

72% Say Taxpayers Not Getting Value on Public Education

04/30/2011
by Brian Costin On Tuesday, May 24 we will host pollster Scott Rasmussen to discuss the intersection of public opinion and free market principles. The renowned founder of Rasmussen Reports will share what “big ideas” are trending nationally and provide takeaways for Illinois residents, officials, and business leaders. This week, Rasmussen Reports released the results of a new poll showing heavy dissatisfaction...

High Speed Rail Dead in its Tracks?

By Chris Andriesen
04/29/2011
by Brian Costin In the above video from 2009 the Cato Institute’s Senior Fellow, Randal O’Toole, talks about the impact of high speed rail in Illinois. Fast forward to April 2011, and it appears as if the national high-speed rail plan touted by President Obama is losing significant steam. This blog post from O’Toole explains. “President Obama’s dream...

Because You’re Not Paying Enough In Taxes Already

04/27/2011
by Kristina Rasmussen As Illinois’s service sector grows (accounting for 32 percent of Illinois’s economy in 1977 and 48 percent in 2009), so has the desire to tax it. In 2009, the Illinois Senate tried to expand the state sales tax to a number of services (chimney sweeps, animal shelters, interior design services, and so on),...

Quinn Spokesperson Wrong About Budget Cuts

03/11/2011
Following the Senate Republicans’ press conference Thursday, Illinois Statehouse News released an interview with the governor’s budget spokesperson, Kelly Kraft.  In her interview, Kelly paints a doomsday picture of what Illinois would be like after cutting $6 billion from the budget. Kelly states the governor has already made dramatic budget cuts, but we know that’s not true....

Plus 945: Why Quinn Doesn’t Fear Public Employee Unions

01/31/2011
While governors in New York and Wisconsin are stirring up much antagonism from state and local employees after making sizable cuts to stave off fiscal calamity, Illinois's Governor is adding hundreds to the state payroll.
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4 ways to break out of Illinois’ pension trap

Causes, costs, how to set the state free

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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