Press Releases

Gogo to move headquarters from Itasca to Chicago

Charles Thomas reports: A suburban company is relocating its headquarters to Chicago. It’s an economic shot in the arm for the city, but what does it mean for the overall state economy? The fact that Gogo Corporation is moving to Chicago from the northwest suburbs will not make any difference in the state or region’s...

Event Wednesday: A look at Illinois’ government and political future

Illinois Policy Institute CEO John Tillman to speak Wednesday morning at event hosted by Union League Club of Chicago and Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce Illinois has the worst-funded pension system in the nation, the second highest unemployment rate of any state and, despite record revenues, billions of dollars in unpaid bills. How did Illinois get here? Decades of...

The plan for the next income tax hike

Have you ever hiked up a steep hill or mountain? Sometimes the climb goes well; other times there are setbacks, and you have to start again. The pride in reaching your goal provides tremendous satisfaction, and the joy fuels the willingness to continue on the journey. But imagine instead how would you feel if, just...

Education expert to speak about new reform ideas for Illinois schools

In recent years, neighboring states such as Wisconsin and Indiana have enacted landmark education reform. But here in Illinois, many of these reforms have yet to be implemented. On Tuesday, an education policy researcher from the nonpartisan Illinois Policy Institute will discuss how Illinois can reform its government school system in a way that improves...

ObamaCare: Separating fact from fiction

Illinois Policy Institute Director of Health Policy Naomi Lopez Bauman joined Mike Flannery and Darlene Hill on Fox Chicago to break down ObamaCare and separate fact from fiction.

Trapped in Chicago’s worst schools: Illinois Policy Institute report examines student performance in the bottom 10% of city schools

Startling statistics: 75% of students in Chicago’s lowest-performing elementary schools do not meet state standards in reading and math; 95% of students in Chicago’s lowest-performing high schools struggle with basic algebra and summarizing reading assignments There is a lot of talk in Chicago about “struggling public schools” and “fixing public education.” But year after year,...

Progressive tax hike sold as a tax on the rich, but in reality is a tax hike on the middle class

Today, proponents of a progressive tax hike plan to lobby in Springfield in support of higher taxes on the middle class – Here’s five reasons why a progressive tax hike is wrong for Illinois Across the state, tax hike advocates are laying the groundwork for Illinois to abandon its flat income tax in favor of...

Champaign-area county governments receive low scores on government online transparency audit

All county-level governments except one in the Champaign-area fail online transparency audit In the age of the internet, it’s never been easier to keep the public informed about what government is doing. But a recent audit of government websites statewide found that county-level governments are underperforming when it comes to online transparency. Iroquois, Vermilion, Ford,...