Republican Party

Lawmakers should not opt-in to ObamaCare’s Medicaid expansion

By Jonathan Ingram
07/16/2012
Now that the dust has settled from the Supreme Court’s ObamaCare decision, states are trying to decide whether they should opt-in to ObamaCare’s massive Medicaid expansion. Just 10 states have committed to expanding Medicaid, with another three leaning toward implementing the expansion. Leaders in 13 states, including those run by both Republicans and Democrats, have...

Another day, another terrible competitiveness ranking for Illinois

By Lawrence McQuillan
07/12/2012
CNBC just released its 2012 America’s Top States for Business, and guess what, Illinois didn’t top the list (no surprise there), but it wasn’t even in the top half! Illinois placed a dismal 26th, worse than most of its neighboring states. Texas took top honors as it has done for three of the six years that...

UPDATE: Senate concurs with tax hike on the poor

By Jonathan Ingram
06/14/2012
We’ve previously reported on SB 2194, which imposes new taxes on tobacco products and hospitals. Of course, cigarette taxes can’t fix the structural problems of Medicaid. Last week, the bill passed the House 60-52, with eighteen Republicans voting for the tax hike. Moments ago, the Illinois Senate concurred with the House 31-27, sending the bill to the Governor’s...

Illinois House votes to raise taxes

By Jonathan Ingram
05/25/2012
The Illinois House just passed SB 2194, which imposes new taxes on tobacco products and hospitals. We’ve previously explained why cigarette taxes can’t fix the structural problems in the Medicaid program. A total of eighteen Republicans signed on to the tax hike, including Mike Bost, Dan Brady, Franco Coladipietro, Jim Durkin, Kent Gaffney, Renée Kosel, David Leitch, Donald Moffitt, Rosemary Mulligan,Chris Nybo, JoAnn Osmond, Robert Pritchard, Dennis Reboletti, Chapin Rose, Jim Sacia, Darlene...

Illinois Senate moves to implement ObamaCare early

By Jonathan Ingram
05/24/2012
by Jonathan Ingram The Illinois Senate just passed HB 5007, which will implement key portions of ObamaCare nearly two years early. We’ve previously debunked the myths surrounding this plan, explaining how it fails taxpayers. From the Senate gallery, I watched as the vote was taken with virtually no debate or discussion. It was clear that the outcome was...

Where is the leadership​?

05/18/2012
Every now and then you find out whether leaders and legislators are truly for reform or whether they simply use the concept to advance electoral imperatives. The upcoming votes on Medicaid, pensions and the state budget will be illuminating. Things are moving quickly in Springfield, and the most urgent issue on deck is Medicaid. Leadership...
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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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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