Chicagoans could be on the brink of a cell-phone tax hike. Gov. Pat Quinn has signed into law an amendment to House Bill 2453, which gives the city of Chicago the authority to raise the city’s per-line 911 fee to $3.90 from the current fee of $2.50. Chicago cell-phone users are already hit hard by...
It’s hard to deny just how poorly Chicago’s public schools are performing when it hits you in the face. Such is the case with Paul Robeson High School’s 2014 prom theme: “This is Are Story.” That image came from veteran investigative reporter Chuck Goudie, who posted this image on his Facebook page. Some people might...
The nation’s unemployment rate remained at 6.3 percent in May, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest unemployment report. But with 217,000 jobs created, the total number of payroll jobs has finally recovered to its pre-recession level. In other words, the nation is finally back to where it was six years ago. While...
It’s easy to be apathetic when it comes to effecting change in Illinois. Rampant corruption, legislators voting on bills they don’t read and the oversized influence of lobbyists all make trying to change public policy for the better a seemingly impossible task. But this doesn’t have to be the case – there are plenty of...
Is the school your child attends as good as you think it is? New research by Lance Izumi – senior director of education studies at the California-based Pacific Research Institute – shows that a large number of suburban Illinois public schools aren’t making the grade. His study complements research conducted by the Illinois Policy Institute...
The driving goal of the Illinois Policy Institute is to transform liberty principles into marketable policies that become law. The ultimate sign of success is when free market ideas are enacted into laws that change Illinoisans’ lives for the better. Illinois Policy Action’s 2014 legislative agenda emphasized the importance of a financially responsible and limited...
The Illinois Liquor Control Commission, or ILCC, has proposed new regulations to the craft brewing industry that would halt expansion plans for many craft breweries throughout the state. The proposed regulations would limit brewpubs’ ability to produce and sell more than 1,200 barrels of their beer for offsite consumption, even to licensed distributers. This is...
The 2014 legislative roller coaster is finally over. The good news is that all Illinois taxpayers are on track to see income tax relief next year. The bad news is that politicians pushed through a last-minute budget deal that relies heavily on gimmicks and budget games. Here’s a snapshot of the good, the bad and...
Illinois drivers pay, on average, $0.39 per gallon in state gas taxes. That amount adds up quickly. A driver purchasing 15 gallons of gas in Illinois shells out about $6 extra in state taxes, on top of the price of the gasoline itself. Illinois’ per-gallon gas tax is the eighth highest in the country, according...
In completing our second month of the new “Illinois Corruption Watch” project, we are shocked at the volume of corruption stories being reported across the state. In just two months we have found reports of 101 different corruption-related stories; 45 in April and 56 in May. It’s no wonder Illinois citizens have by far the...
Of all Illinois’ taxes, its death tax is the most morbid. Only 15 states in the U.S. levy a tax on death, and Illinois has the second-highest rate. Death taxes include estate and inheritance taxes. They hit certain Illinois families hard. Farmers, investors and business owners often need substantial assets to generate a moderate income....
The House Energy and Commerce Committee wants answers. According to a June 3 letter from committee leaders to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, lawmakers are seeking details on how and why several state-run health care exchanges have failed. They want to know why the administration awarded more than $1 billion...
Illinois politicians want to make things worse for the many Chicagoans struggling to find jobs and make ends meet. They’re calling for state, county and local tax hikes on the city that already has one of the worst metro area unemployment rates in the nation, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Gov. Pat...
Should food producers be forced to label genetically modified, or GM, goods? It’s a trend that’s been popping up in states across the country, with laws now on the books in Maine and Connecticut. The possibility has been raised in Illinois, too, with a Senate bill under discussion that would require foods with even one...