Wesley L. Fox

Taxpayers Paying for New Model of Chicago

10/19/2010
by Wesley Fox In 2008, the Chicago Architecture Foundation was awarded a $100,000 grant from the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to “assist in the development of the 2008-2009 Special Exhibitions.” According to the DCEO Grant Tracker (Under “Search Grants by Organization” search Chicago Architecture Foundation, Grant #09-335008), the Special Exhibitions will feature a “state-of-the-art scale model...

Illinois Begging Companies Not to Leave with Tax Credits

10/14/2010
by Wesley Fox Governor Quinn recently announced a new $7 million “business investment package” that will keep U.S. Cellular’s headquarters in Illinois.  The package is part of the state’s Economic Development for a Growing Economy Tax Credit Program (EDGE).  The program provides tax credits to companies that promise to make capital investments within the state and create 25 new...

Who Brings Home the Pork from Washington?

10/12/2010
by Wesley Fox With the release of the 2010 Capital Bill Piglet Book highlighting wasteful spending by the state, I was curious to see what kind of wasteful spending was taking place at the federal level on behalf of Illinois. This information was gathered from the Citizens Against Government Waste Pork Database and includes their sponsored earmarks for the...

Illinois, Behind in Bills, Decides to Spend More

10/08/2010
by Wesley Fox Despite Illinois’s record deficit and $6 billion in unpaid bills, Governor Quinn recently announced $50 million in new spending for the Neighborhood Recovery Initiative.  The Initiative would focus on job training for adults and small businesses and also provide funds for small businesses in troubled neighborhoods with the goal of addressing violent crime problems by...

TAGS: Neighborhood Recovery Initiative

Medicaid Taking Huge Bite Out of Illinois Budget

10/04/2010
by Wesley Fox Like many states, Illinois faces severe budget problems resulting from the economic recession.  Illinois’s budget problems are made worse by the massive cost of its Medicaid program.  According to the National Association of State Budget Officers, Medicaid represents approximately 30% of the Illinois budget. Only two other states (Maine and Missouri) commit more of their...

States with Business-Friendly Policies Growing

09/28/2010
by Wesley Fox Over the last decade, Americans have steadily moved to states with lower taxes and fewer regulations on businesses.  The population of business-friendly states such as Texas, Florida, and Utah has increased significantly.  In fact, all three are expected to gain seats in the Congress after they are reapportioned. According to a recent...

Special Elections Could Thwart Democrats’ Plans for Lame Duck Session

09/24/2010
by Wesley Fox Some Republicans in Congress have expressed concern Democrats in Congress will use the lame duck session after the November election to push through controversial legislation such as Cap and Trade and Card Check.  The concern is that the Democrats who lose in the election will go ahead and vote for these controversial measures since their job will...

A Novel Approach to Budget Planning

09/22/2010
by Wesley Fox In the last few years, the federal government and many state governments have used a similar approach to dealing with the economic downturn: higher taxes and more government spending.  Governor Quinn’s proposed tax hikes and his $31 billion Illinois Jobs Now capital spending program are a perfect example. Meanwhile, Chicago Park District...

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

By Ted Dabrowski
05/02/2016