United States Senate

Transparency in Jeopardy

By Chris Andriesen
11/16/2010
by Kate Piercy Back in July, Gov. Quinn made an amendatory veto to HB5154, which called for the exemption of all public employee performance evaluations under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The Illinois Policy Institute argued against this bill, saying it would threaten transparency in government by prohibiting the release of public employee performance reviews...

The Wisconsin/Illinois Jobs Spat

By Chris Andriesen
11/15/2010
Illinois Governor Pat Quinn is engaged in a jobs spat with Wisconsin Governor-Elect Scott Walker. Walker had questioned the wisdom of committing Wisconsin to additional “high speed rail” boondoogle spending (read why he’s right on the policy merits); Governor Quinn responded by trying to woo a Wisconsin-based rail firm to Illinois. Beyond targeted campaigns to win over one company or another...

What It Means – Elections

By John Tillman
11/03/2010
All across the country, from federal races to local races, the national mood and resulting election wave dominated and largely prevailed.  In Illinois, that same wave only flowed for the federal races, not the General Assembly or governor’s race. Mark Kirk won President Obama’s Senate seat, and there were four GOP pickups in the House...

High Cost for Mandated College Polling Stations

10/29/2010
by Amanda Griffin-Johnson Earlier this year, SB 3012 was signed into law and created a pilot project mandating that election authorities provide early voting sites on public university campuses in their jurisdiction. The project is only for the 2010 general election, but some county clerks have voiced their opposition to the mandate citing the high costs for small...

Sen. Syverson Signs Tax Pledge at Rockford Turnaround Tour Stop

10/01/2010
On September 30th the Illinois Turnaround Tour made a stop in Rockford. Over 50 people packed the Wallingford Center at the Best Western Clock Tower Resort to hear about the Illinois Turnaround Plan of lower taxes; responsible spending; transparent, accountable government; and a business friendly environment that empowers entrepreneurs, investors and workers. John Tillman, CEO...

Leader Radogno Slams AFSCME Deal

09/23/2010
by Kristina Rasmussen Here’s Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno’s take on the AFSCME deal: “This is wrong on so many counts that it is hard to know where to begin. At a minimum, there is the appearance that the Governor traded a favorable contract for the union endorsement. It was clearly wrong to take the state’s lead...

2010 Illinois General Assembly Vote Card

By Chris Andriesen
09/23/2010
Introduction Today, Illinois stands at a crossroads. Our state faces mounting debt and troublesome unemployment. Significant budget challenges have been caused and are now intensified by destructive overspending habits and a job-killing regulatory approach. In the midst of this crisis, Illinois citizens and their leaders must turn the state’s affairs around and put Illinois back...

Citing liability costs, Tom Coburn says he has stopped delivering babies.

09/22/2010
by Kristina Rasmussen You may have heard that the Institute is expecting somewhat of a baby boom in coming months. Clearly we didn’t get the “record low birthrate” memo. So it is with sadness that we note Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) — a known friend of the taxpayer and physician — has stopped delivering babies because of liability costs....

What Karl Rove Should Have Said

09/16/2010
by John Tillman Tuesday night, I happened to be watching live when Karl Rove fulminated on the Christine O’Donnell win in the Delaware GOP Senate primary.  You can see the full video here but I’ve provided a transcript (from Fox News) of some of the key passages below.  Among the things Rove said: “This is the inexplicable (emphasis added)...
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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