Illinois’ financial transparency ranks among worst in the nation

By Jessica Rehberg

06/29/2026

The state ranked 46th in a recent report, getting only 51 out of 100 points.

Unlocking Opportunity: How Occupational Licensing Reform Would Promote Equitable Empowerment in Illinois

By Josh Bandoch, Larry Han

10/16/2024

Published Oct. 16, 2024 Illinois finds itself at a crossroads: will it empower minorities and poor people to unleash their potential, or will it perpetuate an inequitable status quo? For far too many Illinoisans, opportunity is unfairly and unnecessarily out of reach. Illinois ranks in the bottom ten among all states in social mobility and...

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...

Budget Solutions 2020: A 5-year plan to balance Illinois’ budget, pay off debt and cut taxes

By Adam Schuster

02/04/2019

Gov. J.B. Pritzker inherited a $2.8 billion budget deficit the moment he stepped into office. Next year, that deficit is projected to be $3.4 billion1. It’s the same story every budget season. But Illinois’ budget crises could be a thing of the past if the state would adopt pension reform, right-size its union contracts and...

Bad budgeting basics: How Illinois’ budget process hurts taxpayers

By Adam Schuster

06/14/2018

It is time to give taxpayers and businesses the certainty they need to plan a long-term future in the state.

Illinois Corruption Watch, May 2014

By Brian Costin

06/04/2014

In completing our second month of the new “Illinois Corruption Watch” project, we are shocked at the volume of corruption stories being reported across the state. In just two months we have found reports of 101 different corruption-related stories; 45 in April and 56 in May. It’s no wonder Illinois citizens have by far the...

Moody’s: Illinois 2011 unfunded liability jumps by 65 percent

By Chris Andriesen

06/28/2013

by Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner Moody’s Investors Service reported that Illinois’ true unfunded pension liability in fiscal year 2011 was nearly 65% higher than the state’s official estimate. In its report titled “Adjusted Pension Liability Medians for U.S. States,” Moody’s calculated the unfunded liabilities for Illinois’ three largest state-run pension plans at $133 billion, compared...

Morris is ideal corruption fighting location for Illinois capital

By Brian Costin

06/03/2013

If your goal is to fight public corruption, where should Illinois’ capital be? That’s essentially the question asked in a recent Huffington Post article, which examined the results of two studies on the correlation between the remoteness of state capitals and public corruption. The surprising answer is Morris, a city of 13,636. Morris is also...

Institute on First Business: John Tillman Discusses Pension Crises Across the U.S.

12/31/2010

Institute CEO, John Tillman, on First Business discussing the pension funding shortfalls in Illinois and across the U.S., and answering the question of whether a federal bailout for Illinois is near.

Institute on First Business: John Tillman Discusses Pension Crises Across the U.S.

12/31/2010

Institute CEO, John Tillman, on First Business discussing the pension funding shortfalls in Illinois and across the U.S., and answering the question of whether a federal bailout for Illinois is near.

U.S. state

Illinois’ financial transparency ranks among worst in the nation

Unlocking Opportunity: How Occupational Licensing Reform Would Promote Equitable Empowerment in Illinois

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

Budget Solutions 2020: A 5-year plan to balance Illinois’ budget, pay off debt and cut taxes

Bad budgeting basics: How Illinois’ budget process hurts taxpayers

Illinois Corruption Watch, May 2014

Moody’s: Illinois 2011 unfunded liability jumps by 65 percent

Morris is ideal corruption fighting location for Illinois capital

Institute on First Business: John Tillman Discusses Pension Crises Across the U.S.

Institute on First Business: John Tillman Discusses Pension Crises Across the U.S.

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

Report Archive

Diana Graham

Process for unionizing non-state workers raises red flags

CBS Chicago: Illinois’ highest-paid superintendent receives $400K per year to oversee 1,200 students