Springfield

Illinois Forward: A 5-year plan for balanced budgets, declining debt and tax relief

By Adam Schuster
02/15/2020
The years 2010 through 2019 will go down in Illinois history as a decade of public policy failure and economic decline. High fixed costs for pensions and government worker health care have prevented the state from balancing its budget in any year since 2001. Since the Great Recession in 2008, the state’s fiscal imbalance has...

Illinois police serve search warrant at Madigan’s Springfield office, looking for evidence of sexual assault, battery by former state lawmaker

By Austin Berg
02/01/2020
State police executed the search warrant in an attempt to find evidence of criminal behavior by former Democratic state Rep. Jack Franks.

TAGS: corruption, fair maps, fair tax, graduated income tax, house rules, ILGA: Illinois General Assembly, Illinois, Illinois House of Representatives, illinois state police, independent maps, investigation, Jack Franks, JB Pritzker, legislative map, Mike Madigan, progressive income tax, redistricting, rules committee, search warrant, sexual harrassment, Springfield, State of the State

After $1B in tickets and 4 corruption indictments, Illinois should shutter the red-light camera industry

By Austin Berg
01/30/2020
With a federal corruption probe burrowing deeper into Springfield, the Illinois General Assembly has only one choice when it comes to the future of a red-light camera industry that has infected nearly 100 communities statewide: shut it down.

TAGS: bribery, Chicago, corruption, David McSweeney, fees, fines, IDOT: Illinois Department of Transportation, ILGA: Illinois General Assembly, Illinois, John Bills, local government, Martin O'Malley, Martin Sandoval, Mike Madigan, red light cameras, Redflex Traffic Systems, SafeSpeed, Springfield

FBI asking about Madigan money, political clout in corruption investigation

By Austin Berg
12/06/2019
There is little doubt the FBI is targeting the longtime House speaker and Democratic political boss in their sweeping investigation of Illinois corruption.

TAGS: ComEd, Commonwealth Edison, corruption, Democratic Party, ethics, fair maps, fair tax, FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigation, federal investigation, gerrymandering, house rules, ILGA: Illinois General Assembly, Illinois, independent maps, lawmakers, Mike Madigan, revolving door, rules committee, Springfield, watchdog

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Chicago Forward 2026: A pro-growth plan to end city budget deficits

Chicago’s $1.15 billion projected budget gap is the latest in a decades-long string of structural deficits. Making Chicago’s high taxes worse is not the solution.

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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