Illinois General Assembly continues to ignore the basics of good public policy
Illinois General Assembly continues to ignore the basics of good public policy
by Ben VanMetre Illinois has a spending problem. State government spending has grown at three times the rate of inflation since 1990. Despite Illinois’ existing balanced budget requirement, the state hasn’t had a balanced budget since 2001. That’s because political leadership in Illinois has been ignoring the basics of good public policy for decades. Lawmakers had the...
Moody’s downgrades Illinois credit rating: 13th credit downgrade under Quinn
Moody’s downgrades Illinois credit rating: 13th credit downgrade under Quinn
by Ted Dabrowski Moody’s Investors Service downgraded Illinois’ credit rating to “A3” from “A2” after the General Assembly failed to move forward on pension reform before the end of the spring legislative session. The rating agency also says it has a negative outlook on Illinois’ credit: “The negative outlook reflects our expectation that Illinois’ pension...
Session wrap up: move against progressive income tax continues to gain momentum
Session wrap up: move against progressive income tax continues to gain momentum
Illinois lawmakers want to pass another multibillion dollar tax increase in Illinois in the form of a progressive income tax. That discussion materialized earlier this year when state Rep. Naomi Jakobsson, D-Urbana, proposed an amendment (HJRCA 2) to swap out Illinois’ constitutionally protected flat rate income tax for a progressive tax. The plan is to make permanent...
By Benjamin VanMetre
New York: lax labor laws lead to big corruption
New York: lax labor laws lead to big corruption
Among the many problems created by labor law across the country is the temptation for union officials to embezzle funds. A spectacular case came up in Auburn, N.Y., where the late Sally Jo Widmer, who had been the long-time president of the Auburn Teachers Association, was found to have siphoned off $800,000 from the union....
By Paul Kersey
The truth behind CPS’s graduation rate rise
The truth behind CPS’s graduation rate rise
by Josh Dwyer Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers Union both patted themselves on the back this week for a two percentage point increase in CPS’s graduation rate over the past year, up to 63 percent from 61 percent. Here’s what they said: “We are happy to see increased graduation rates for CPS. It proves those...
Morris is ideal corruption fighting location for Illinois capital
Morris is ideal corruption fighting location for Illinois capital
If your goal is to fight public corruption, where should Illinois’ capital be? That’s essentially the question asked in a recent Huffington Post article, which examined the results of two studies on the correlation between the remoteness of state capitals and public corruption. The surprising answer is Morris, a city of 13,636. Morris is also...
By Brian Costin
Fitch downgrades Illinois after lawmakers fail to pass pension reform
Fitch downgrades Illinois after lawmakers fail to pass pension reform
by Ted Dabrowski Fitch Ratings downgraded Illinois’ credit rating to “A-” from “A” after the General Assembly failed to move forward on pension reform before the end of the spring legislative session. In its statement announcing the downgrade, Fitch called Illinois’ pension liability “unsustainable” and said it was concerned about the state being able to...
Congress Hotel strike shows how union representation can leave workers worse off
Congress Hotel strike shows how union representation can leave workers worse off
by Paul Kersey The 10-year strike by housekeepers at the Congress Hotel was not actually the longest in U.S. history. Teamsters at Diamond Walnuts in California staged a walkout that lasted 14 years before agreeing to a contract. But the length of the strike and the sad way the Congress Hotel strike ended demolishes a fond...
Illinois General Assembly reverses Quinn’s education budget cuts
Illinois General Assembly reverses Quinn’s education budget cuts
Just a few months ago, the big education news in Illinois was Gov. Pat Quinn’s proposed $400 million cut to the General State Aid for Education budget – the state’s single-largest education expenditure. This article in the Chicago Tribune captured the frantic pleas of school boards, administrators and teachers at the time: Roger Eddy, a former state...
By Benjamin VanMetre
Illinois’ pension system has spiraled so out of control that not even the architects of the system can fix it
Illinois’ pension system has spiraled so out of control that not even the architects of the system can fix it
Like many, we are disappointed that pension reform was not enacted during the spring legislative session. But make no mistake: the Madigan and Cullerton pension proposals were not pension reform. Taxpayers should be relieved they did not pass. Right now, the job of Illinois government is to provide for the well-being of all the people....
Corri McFadden is betting on Illinois
Corri McFadden is betting on Illinois
When Corri McFadden thinks about the future and growing her business, it always includes Illinois.
By Hilary Gowins
Will Illinois legislators break their promise to reduce taxes?
Will Illinois legislators break their promise to reduce taxes?
by Ted Dabrowski and Paul Schumacher In 2011, when Illinois legislators passed the largest income tax increase in the state’s history, they promised to roll back the increase beginning in 2015. “We have some temporary tax increases that are designed to pay our bills, get Illinois back on fiscal sound footing and make sure that our state...
Budget Rush — Haste makes waste, and secrecy makes more waste
Budget Rush — Haste makes waste, and secrecy makes more waste
by Paul Kersey So, here we are again, scrambling at the last minute to evaluate a complex document that accounts for billions of dollars of state employee wages. In March of this year it was the tentative agreement between Gov. Quinn and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31. The challenge...
The truth behind Illinois’ FY 2014 budget: broken promises and future tax hikes
The truth behind Illinois’ FY 2014 budget: broken promises and future tax hikes
The Illinois General Assembly increased spending to more than $35.4 billion, up approximately $2 billion from what was approved for the current fiscal year. The budget handouts being passed around the Statehouse describe this as an “honest budget,” the same language Gov. Pat Quinn used when he proposed his version of a budget back in March....
By Benjamin VanMetre