Republican Party

Illinois: $27 billion in tax increases since 2011

05/21/2014
A new report by Americans for Tax Reform shows that Democratic governors have enacted more than $58 billion in tax increases since 2011. Republican governors, on the other hand, have collectively signed more than $36 billion in tax cuts. Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, one of the nation’s top five most tax-happy governors, has signed 29 tax increases...

ObamaCare: Politicians living by the same set of rules gaining support

By Naomi Lopez Bauman
05/06/2014
Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin has filed suit in federal court “to make Congress live by the letter of the health-care law it imposed on the rest of America.” He now has support from dozens of his Congressional colleagues, as well as a growing number of supporters across the country, to make congressmen participate...

Illinois’ Corruption Hall of Shame, April 2014

By Brian Costin
05/06/2014
April was a very busy month for public corruption stories in Illinois. In total, there were 45 different public corruption-related news stories in just 30 days. A full list of those stories can be found here. Here are the April inductees to the Illinois Hall of Shame: 5. The city of Chicago spent more than...

Chapa LaVia’s war on school choice

05/01/2014
State Rep. Chapa LaVia’s constituents oppose her efforts to limit school choice. The representative has launched a full-scale assault on school choice this legislative session, sponsoring more than a half dozen bills that would limit the growth of charter schools and put strict limits on digital learning. Two – House Bill 3754 and House Bill...

Illinois Corruption Watch: April 2014

By Brian Costin
04/30/2014
45.  April 30, 2014 Sun-Times: Criminal probe of Quinn anti-violence plan rocks governor’s race A criminal grand jury has launched a probe into Gov. Pat Quinn’s troubled anti-violence program —  once likened to “a political slush fund” — delivering a major blow to the Democrat as he seeks re-election this fall. On Tuesday, the Quinn...

Term limits initiative submits 590,000 signatures, one step closer to ballot

By Brian Costin
04/30/2014
A ballot measure that would limit state legislators to eight years in office cleared a major hurdle today. In a press conference, Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner announced that the group, The Committee for Legislative Reform and Term Limits, is submitting more than 590,000 petition signatures in support of a term limits constitutional initiative. The...

Illinois GOP leaders introduce executive term limits proposal, Quinn flips opposition

By Brian Costin
04/25/2014
Illinois is one of only 14 states that doesn’t have some form of gubernatorial term-limits. A proposal introduced by Illinois State Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno (R-Lemont) and Illinois House Republican Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) would give Illinois voters an opportunity to change that this coming November by enacting eight-year term limits on executive...

Obama presidential library: Madigan and Rahm caught red-handed

By Jane McEnaney
04/24/2014
Last week, House Speaker Michael Madigan and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel tried to pull the wool over the eyes of every Illinoisan by dedicating $100 million of taxpayer dollars to the construction of Barack Obama’s presidential library, which the city of Chicago is vying for. Fortunately, they were caught red-handed. According to the Rules of...

Chapa LaVia’s war on school choice

04/04/2014
Should this Twitter ad be illegal? State Rep. Chapa LaVia, a Democrat from Aurora and head of the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee, thinks so. She’s the chief sponsor of a bill that would prohibit “any and all marketing and advertising to the public for charter school enrollment and recruitment made by a charter...
Load More

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

Occupational licensing requirements present one of the steepest barriers to low-income Illinoisans starting careers in beauty services. Illinois requires anyone seeking to become a barber, cosmetologist, nail technician or hair braider to obtain a state license, essentially a permission slip to work. Unlike 45 other states, Illinois offers only one pathway to licensure for each...

View Report

Report Archive

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