USA Today

ObamaCare limbo: Thousands of Illinoisans trying to get out of Medicaid while many more trying to get in

By Naomi Lopez Bauman
01/10/2014
Last month, USA Today reported that thousands of people are being mistakenly enrolled in Medicaid due to continued glitches in the healthcare.gov website. Now, it is being reported that more than 100,000 people in five states, including 30,000 in Illinois, have not been able to enroll in the Medicaid program directly from the government site....

TAGS: Get Covered Illinois, health insurance, Medicaid

Thousands of Illinoisans have to reapply for ObamaCare

By Naomi Lopez Bauman
12/19/2013
If navigating the ObamaCare website or filling out the applications weren’t challenging enough, some in Illinois and around the country are facing yet another challenge. USA Today reports that some people are being mistakenly enrolled into Medicaid. Not only are individuals improperly enrolled in Medicaid faced with the problem of canceling that enrollment, but they...

TAGS: ACA: Affordable Care Act, Illinois Medicaid Redetermination Project, Medicaid

ObamaCare: Time for heads to roll?

By Naomi Lopez Bauman
10/09/2013
U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius is in damage control mode in the wake of the glitches and failures of ObamaCare’s grand unveiling. Her op-ed in USA Today calls the government’s ObamaCare website “simple, user-friendly.” She also appeared on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. But her next appearance might be in...

TAGS: Health and Human Services, HHS: Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius

Caution: Transparency needed in Midway privatization deal

05/07/2013
by Brian Costin The city of Chicago is currently considering bids to select a private management company for the operation of Midway Airport for the next 40 years. The proceeds of the deal will be primarily used to pay off Midway’s $1.4 billion in outstanding debt and additional capital needs. As an advocate for limited...

Government salaries have received significant interest in recent months

By Chris Andriesen
11/30/2010
by Kate Piercy The Illinois Policy Institute has highlighted various instances where Illinois government employees are paid above national averages and much of the time land in the highest earners rankings. Our legislators, allexecutive officers, including the governor, and judges, make some of the highest salaries compared to counterparts nationwide. The Wall Street Journal today discussed President Obama’s recent...

More and More Federal Employees Earning $150k a Year

By Chris Andriesen
11/10/2010
by Wesley Fox The Institute has previously put the spotlight on excessive salaries for Illinois state employees, but now it appears federal employees are also being paid quite generously. According to USAToday the number of federal employees earning $150,000 or more has grown tenfold since 2005.  In 2010, approximately 82,034 federal workers earned $150,000 or more, compared to only 7,420...

My Nominee for Pay Czar: David Stern

By Chris Andriesen
11/02/2010
by Dan Proft I do not think government functionaries should set private sector salaries or that U.S. policymakers should be adorned with the appellation properly reserved for Russian autocrats. But, if I did not believe in free markets and free minds, NBA Commissioner David Stern would be my choice for “Pay Czar.” Stern is in the...

What about that $162 million in stimulus money?

10/06/2010
by Kate Piercy Although Recovery.gov promised transparency on how the government spends every dollar of stimulus money, USA Today reports “there’s $162 million the website doesn’t disclose,” finding: Recipients of 352 federal stimulus contracts, grants and loans have failed to report how they spent the money, the status of their projects or how many jobs were funded, according...

To Some, Tax Cuts Are Irresponsible Government Giveaways

09/29/2010
by Mark Cavers On Friday September 24th, the Editorial Board at USA Today penned an opinion piece titled, “Our view on the Pledge to America.”  In this article, USA Today refers to the extension of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts as an irresponsible “giveaway.” Even more irresponsible is the pledge’s vow to permanently extend all the...
Load More

FAQ: How the federal scholarship program would help Illinois students

Illinois students could soon benefit from scholarship money to help them find a tutor, attend ACT or SAT prep sessions, pay tuition, get special education services or assist with other academic needs. That will happen in Illinois only if Gov. J.B. Pritzker lets the state’s schoolchildren benefit from the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit program, established...

View Report

Report Archive

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