United States Congress

Madigan’s Illinois pension fix: $15B less in savings, more gimmicks

01/28/2014
Not unlike ObamaCare, a bill Congress had to pass “to find out what’s in it,” Illinois’ General Assembly passed a pension fix in December 2013 without an official scoring of the bill. During floor debates, House Leader Mike Madigan and proponents of Senate Bill 1 promised $160 billion in savings over 30 years. Many opponents...

TAGS: pensions, Senate Bill 1

State attorneys general school Obama on constitutionality when it comes to ObamaCare

By Bryant Jackson-Green
01/06/2014
Eleven state attorneys general are coming out against the unconstitutionality of changes in implementing President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act. This group – not including Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan – lambasted the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS, for proposed regulations they say “[compound] illegal executive action” and “[fail] to protect...

TAGS: ACA: Affordable Care Act, Barack Obama

Congress avoids the ObamaCare experience

By Naomi Lopez Bauman
11/22/2013
While millions of Americans across the country are figuring out what to do about their canceled health plans – despite being promised repeatedly by the president that they could keep them – those in Congress who have enrolled in ObamaCare have managed to avoid the unpleasantness. Under the Affordable Care Act, or ACA, commonly known...

ObamaCare in Illinois

By Naomi Lopez Bauman
11/21/2013
In a press conference earlier this month, Republican lawmakers proposed a resolution that urges Congress to delay the “individual mandate” and calls on the Illinois Department of Insurance to fully disclose the number of people in Illinois who are facing health insurance cancellations as a result of ObamaCare. Both calls to action are commendable and...

TAGS: ACA: Affordable Care Act

ObamaCare: Congressional membership has its privileges

By Naomi Lopez Bauman
10/31/2013
While millions across the country are losing their health plans –  despite repeatedly being promised by the president that they could keep them – Congress and the Obama administration have been playing fast and loose with the rules to ensure that many on Capitol Hill won’t lose theirs. Under the Affordable Care Act, or ACA,...

TAGS: ACA: Affordable Care Act

Democrats receive overwhelming majority of Illinois government union donations

By Paul Kersey
10/16/2013
In recent months, unions that had been sharply critical about many aspects of ObamaCare have been extremely quiet since Republicans in Congress have made a concerted – and very controversial – attempt to slow down implementation of the law. The federal government shutdown could have presented a creative union lobbyist with a great opening to...

TAGS: AFL-CIO, AFSCME: American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, IFT: Illinois Federation of Teachers, SEIU: Service Employees International Union

Indiana sues IRS over ObamaCare employer mandate

By Naomi Lopez Bauman
10/09/2013
While the media and public are focused on lawmakers’ fight over ObamaCare and the federal budget, a bigger fight is taking place in the courts. On Oct. 8, the state of Indiana, along with 15 school districts, filed suit against the Internal Revenue Service over ObamaCare’s employer mandate. Under the law, large employers are required...

TAGS: ACA: Affordable Care Act, U.S. Supreme Court

Obama derides workers who go on strike — ‘You’d get fired, right?’

By Paul Kersey
10/04/2013
Does President Barack Obama think House Republicans should form a union? If not, it’s hard to make much sense out of his latest speech at a business in Rockville, Md., in which he equated House Republicans’ decision not to support a budget that would fund ObamaCare to disgruntled workers going on strike: If you are...

Taxpayers subsidizing health insurance costs for Congress

By Naomi Lopez Bauman
09/19/2013
Only 7 percent of those who support the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as ObamaCare, believe it is OK that members of Congress and their staffs are exempt from one of the most burdensome ObamaCare rules. At issue is a fundamental question of fairness. Under ObamaCare, individuals purchasing insurance on the new ObamaCare health care exchanges...