By Benjamin VanMetre
12/06/2012
The dust has settled from an uneventful veto session. No progress was made. The one attempt at reforming Illinois’ out-of-control pensions that legislators put forward is a step in the right direction, but ultimately would perpetuate the crisis by failing to prescribe the right medicine for the problem at hand. And the efforts to make things...
By Jonathan Ingram
12/03/2012
Illinois lawmakers have a choice before them. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or PPACA, permits states to expand their Medicaid programs to those up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level. Under the law, however, Illinois is not required to do so. Hundreds of thousands of the people targeted by the Medicaid...
Last week in Springfield, there was very little legislative activity during the first week of veto session. Such limited action took place that the House canceled Thursday session, and it is rumored that the Legislature will only meet on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week as well. It is expected that the current two-week veto...
By Brian Costin
11/07/2012
In March of this year, state Rep. Derrick Smith was charged with accepting a bribe of $7,000 in exchange for supporting a grant for a fictional day care operator in an undercover FBI sting. The legislature expelled Smith from the legislature in August, but after Tuesday night’s elections it appears that Smith will return to the Legislature...
By Jonathan Ingram
05/24/2012
Earlier today, we reported that the Illinois Senate passed HB 5007, which will implement key portions of ObamaCare nearly two years early in Cook County. Moments ago, the House concurred, sending the bill to the Governor’s desk. Much like the Senate vote earlier today, it was clear that the outcome was certain before the bill ever came...
A National Taxpayers Union Foundation report looks at what Illinois' Members of Congress want to do with your tax dollars.
By Mark Cavers
03/30/2012
Three important bills passed out of the Illinois Senate on Thursday and will now be considered by the House.Ai??My colleague Amanda outlined some bad news coming out of the House, but in the Senate the passage of three bills is good news for people committed to saving Illinois. Each bill would change the structure of...
by Amanda Griffin-Johnson As Illinois state legislators head back to Springfield for the veto session next week, pension reform is the hot topic on everyone’s mind. The time for reform is now, but what solutions are available to legislators? The right way: Taking the difficult, but necessary steps towards real pension reform that ensures there will be money...
by Emily Dietrich People no longer use the term “Hoover Flags” to describe turned-out empty pockets or “Hooverville” to characterize a tent city. Yet, many Illinoisans may be surprised to learn that the failed policies that discredited President Herbert Hoover are still being implemented today. Jonathan Bean, who is a Professor of History at Southern...
by Aon Hussain With the world watching, the Republican controlled House and the Democrat controlled Senate and President came to an agreement on the debt ceiling that simultaneously raised the debt ceiling and ensured more than two trillion dollars in spending cuts. While this showdown was combative, another duel between Democrats and Republicans looms in...
