Texas

Houston woos Dwight Howard with state income tax

By Hilary Gowins
07/05/2013
In the wake of Lebron James’ second-straight NBA title and the end of the professional season, free agents across the league are considering their next moves. Some of the biggest names to enter the free-agent fray include the Los Angeles Lakers’ Dwight Howard and New York Knicks sixth-man, J.R. Smith. As these athletes consider their decision, they’ll...

TAGS: progressive income tax, taxes

Capitol Updates: April 22 week in review

By Jane McEnaney
03/31/2013
It was a quiet week in Springfield as the Illinois Senate was the only chamber in session. Here’s what took place: Virtual charter school moratorium bill assigned to substantive committee On Wednesday, the Senate Assignments Committee referred House Bill 494 to the Senate Education Committee, where it is scheduled to be heard next Tuesday, April...

TAGS: Illinois Statehouse, virtual learning

Why the No Pension Bailout project matters

09/27/2012
The goal of No Pension Bailout is to prevent the federal government from bailing out Illinois or any other states that have mismanaged their funds. We oppose a bailout because not only would it destroy state sovereignty and the concept of fiscal federalism once and for all, it would also transfer trillions of dollars from...

Chicago public school teachers are overpaid

By Chris Andriesen
09/11/2012
by Lawrence J. McQuillan, PhD  Chief Economist The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) is on strike to get, among other things, more pay. They originally asked for a 30 percent pay raise. The current offer on the table is a 16 percent pay hike over four years. They don’t deserve a penny increase. In fact, they deserve a...

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...