West Virginia

Slowest-growing states have progressive income taxes

By Bryce Hill
02/07/2020
Fewer people want to live in states with progressive income taxes. So after 6 straight years of population loss, why would Illinois want to join them?

TAGS: ballot, ballot referendums, corporate income tax, fair tax, flat tax, graduated income tax, Great Recession, ILGA: Illinois General Assembly, Illinois, Illinois Constitution, income tax, JB Pritzker, outmigration, pensions, population, progressive income tax, recession, spending cap, Springfield, tax burden, tax hikes, tax increase, Tennessee, Texas, U.S. Census Bureau, West Virginia, working-age

Illinois personal income growth 2nd lowest in U.S. since Great Recession

By Bryce Hill
01/09/2020
Only Mississippi has fared worse than Illinois in personal income growth since the Great Recession hit at the end of 2007. Analysis shows state income taxes matter.

TAGS: corporate income tax, flat tax, graduated income tax, Great Recession, ILGA: Illinois General Assembly, Illinois, income, income growth, income tax, JB Pritzker, labor, marginal tax, personal income, population, progressive income tax, recession, Springfield, tax burden

State of the state 2019: Past mistakes show path to better future for Illinois

By Orphe Divounguy, Bryce Hill
01/22/2019
Reversing the state’s outmigration of residents and encouraging the job creation Illinoisans need to thrive – and the state needs for stable revenues – require lawmakers to rein in government overspending and resist calls for tax hikes that would further depress Illinois’ economic growth.

Shrinking the Illinois Senate

By Brian Costin
10/08/2013
With 42,336 elected officials as of 1992, Illinois has nearly 12,000 more state and local elected politicians than any other state. Amazingly, with this unprecedented wealth of legislators Illinois hasn’t been able to adequately address some of its most dire problems. Illinois still ranks near the bottom of the nation in numerous key economic indicators,...

TAGS: term limits

Event recap: C.J. Maloney

02/29/2012
Author C.J. Maloney speaks to the Institute about his latest book, "BACK TO THE LAND: Arthurdale, FDR'S New Deal, and the Costs of Economic Planning."

New technology for old problems: 10 elements of high quality digital learning

By Collin Hitt
10/20/2011
The Problem For years, the same common challenges have escaped solutions in even the best public schools: classes move too slowly for some students but too quickly for others; course offerings in foreign language or Advanced Placement are very limited in small and rural schools; and, especially in elementary schools, the school day leaves too...

There’s Nowhere to Go but…Down?: Illinois’ pension crisis

04/27/2011
by Mark Cavers A new report from the Pew Center on the States takes a look at how each state is doing in funding their pension obligations. The report, based on data from fiscal year 2009, shows that Illinois had the lowest funding ratio, with 51% of our pension liabilities funded. The next closest state is...
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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