The Tax Drumbeat Begins
There’s no debate that Illinois is a financial disaster—and in yesterday’s state budget address, Governor Pat Quinn proposed his preferred solution: a 33% income tax increase, plus increased spending. Institute CEO John Tillman appeared on Chicago Tonight to talk about Springfield’s real problems—and solutions that don’t involve emptying taxpayers’ pockets.
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Ill. Policy Institute: 33%!”
Fifty Plus One
As nationalized health care teeters on the brink in Congress, it’s worth looking back at President Obama’s previous statements on the “fifty plus one” strategy. You might be surprised to learn that he wasn’t a big fan of it back then—but then again, you might not. You can click the video above to watch.
Common-Sense Reforms for 2010
Illinois is in a fiscal meltdown—so how can we begin to right the ship? Today, the Illinois Policy Institute released its 2010 Economic Reform Agenda, a series of common-sense reforms for our state. You can learn more about the six first steps to better state government here.
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Ill. Policy Institute: Fifty Plus One”
Going Nuclear
What a difference five years makes. Back then, when Republicans were toying with the notion of ramming a bill through Congress, it was a “naked power grab” and a constitutional crisis. Today, however, such a move is apparently okey-dokey. You can watch the painful evidence by clicking on the video above.
Ill. Policy Institute: Jake Gets Out of Jail”
In case you missed it, today’s Wall Street Journal carried an excellent column highlighting the efforts of the Illinois Policy Institute and the Rev. Senator James Meeks to promote a school voucher program—a program that will give families stuck in Chicago’s worst schools a chance for a better education and a safer learning environment.
The venue was a sold-out lunch put on by the Illinois Policy Institute (IPI). The result? Something new in Windy City politics: a powerful black Democrat reaching out to a free-market think tank to force reform on the city’s most hidebound institution—the Chicago public schools…
A few years back, Barack Obama named him someone he looked to for “spiritual counsel.” Now the man they call “the Reverend Senator” has done the unthinkable: He’s introduced a bill to provide vouchers for as many as 42,000 students now languishing in Chicago’s worst public schools. He tells me he thinks he can get enough Democrats on his coalition to get it through.
Illinois School Choice—and the Institute—in the Wall Street Journal”
Every time the government gets bigger, someone’s getting rich…but it certainly isn’t taxpayers, entrepreneurs, and consumers. Goldman Sachs, GE, Pfizer, the United Auto Workers—the same “special interests” Barack Obama lambasted on the campaign trail—are profiting handsomely from the big government policies now dominating Washington.
Join us on Wednesday, February 24 for an evening with Tim Carney, Washington Examiner columnist and author of “Obamanomics: How Barack Obama Is Bankrupting You and Enriching His Wall Street Friends, Corporate Lobbyists, and Union Bosses.”
Date: Wednesday, February 24
Time: 5:30-7:30 pm
Place: 190 South LaSalle Street, 40th Floor, Chicago
Cost: $30 per ticket (includes drinks and appetizers)
LA Times columnist and bestselling author Jonah Goldberg calls Obamanomics “an indispensable field guide to the Obama years.” Join us on the 24th to learn more. Books will be available for sale and signing at the event.
For more information or to RSVP, contact Katie Truesdell at 312-346-5700, ext. 207 or katie@illinoispolicy.org.
Not So Stimulating
One year after the infamous $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, how’s that much-touted economic stimulus working out? According to even the most optimistic reports, not so well, and only 6 percent of Americans believe it has created jobs. ABC News has a quick summary of the gigantic government spending blowout and its long-term impact—or lack thereof—on jobs.
Who’s Getting Rich From Big Government?
Join Us Next Thursday…
Speaking of government largesse, we’ll be hosting “Obamanomics” author Tim Carney next Thursday evening for an evening of cocktails, appetizers, and engaging discussion. Bestselling author Jonah Goldberg calls Carney’s book an “indispensable field guide to the Obama years”—RSVP today to save your seat!
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Illinois Policy Institute: 6 Percent”
Institute Releases Piglet Book
When the state government is flat broke, should it be funding fishing demonstrations? How about car racing, folk dancing, or a Batman-themed gala? This week, the Illinois Policy Institute released its 2010 Piglet Book, highlighting $350 million in questionable state spending. Access the full report here, or watch John Tillman dish out the porky details on Fox News Chicago by clicking the video above.
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Ill. Policy Institute: Fishy Business?”
(Chicago, Illinois) – The Illinois Policy Institute and Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today released the 2010 Illinois Piglet Book (.PDF FIle), a report finding $350 million in lost savings, challenging the myth there’s no fat in the Illinois state budget. The report reviews state spending on education, health and human services, natural resources, agriculture, the arts council and economic development. In 2008, the Institute and CAGW released a 2008 Illinois Piglet Book, which uncovered hundreds of millions of dollars of wasteful spending. Two years later, the wasteful spending continues. Here are a few examples:
“The 2010 Illinois Piglet Book identifies more than $350 million in unnecessary and wasteful spending our state leaders have tucked into the budget,” said Illinois Policy Institute CEO John Tillman. “Springfield has a spending problem, not a revenue problem – and these numbers just scratch the surface. It is clear the appetite for spending must be curtailed if we are going to solve our budget crisis.”
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Watchdogs Release 2010 Illinois Piglet Book (Wasted Taxes)”
Extra Innings
The Illinois primary season was long and hard-fought…and now, according to some sources, it may go into extra innings. The Chicago Tribune’s Rick Pearson offers his assessment on the potential of a recount vote in the video above.
One Nation, Indivisible…Deep In Debt
Join the Institute on Monday, February 8 at Chicago’s Union League Club! We’re cosponsoring a lunch and discussion with David Walker, former comptroller general of the United States and the nation’s leading financial watchdog. You can learn more about the event here, or read Heather Wilhelm’s latest Examiner column about Walker’s message—and the U.S. debt debacle.
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Illinois Policy Institute: Far from Over?”
Scolding the Supremes
If you missed last night’s State of the Union address, you missed one particularly colorful moment: the president scolding the entire Supreme Court. You can watch the whole awkward run-in between the two branches of government by clicking HERE..
“Radical” Policies…or Common Sense?
A mother wants to send her son to the best school in her neighborhood, but that school happens to be private. Does that make her a radical parent? Of course not—and vouchers can make it happen. In his latest column, Collin Hitt details how this “radical” policy could be coming to Illinois soon.
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Ill Policy Institute: Supremely Inappropriate”
Public schools in Chicago are failing, and sadly, they’re not alone—across the country, inner-city schools are languishing and leaving students behind.
Many cities have experimented with the policy of school vouchers, which can give low-income parents the ability to send their children to private schools. The idea is now being considered in Illinois, led by a proposal from state senator James Meeks.
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Ill. Policy Institute: Vouchers and the Future of Education in Illinois”
From the Illinois Alliance for Growth
Will the State Republican legislators and candidates who want to borrow nearly $20 billion for pensions please come forward?
Illinois Alliance for Growth President Greg Blankenship today called on Republican legislators, gubernatorial candidates and candidates for other state offices to come forward if they are truly interested in a state pension reform scheme that borrows nearly $20 billion today in exchange for 35 years of state government living on a “…strict diet…” of spending.
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Illinois Alliance for Growth Begins Challenges to Think Tanks Claims on Pension Borrowing Scheme”
This week, we released our Pension Funding and Fairness proposal, which offers a groundbreaking solution to our state’s growing pension funding crisis. Our proposal provides a path to fund the system, which now faces a whopping $83 billion in unfunded liabilities, without breaking the bank.
Our plan has received considerable media attention—and some criticism. Greg Hinz of Crain’s Chicago Business summed it up well. The Institute “rolled out its vision of how to close an $80-billion-plus gap in Illinois’ employee pension plans,” he wrote, “and, though portions will offend just about everybody, it’s worth a look…This is a serious report that offers a good starting point for some much needed discussion.”
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Illinois Policy Institute: About Those Attacks on Our Pension Idea”
-By Warner Todd Huston
The Illinois Policy Institute recently released its recommendations for how Illinois could fix its pension mess. Titled the Pension Funding and Fairness Act, the IPI assures the state that this is the answer to its pension problems. Despite that assurance, another Illinois policy group begs to differ. In an Illinois policy group head-to-head smack-down the Illinois Alliance for Growth* has published a critique of the IPI proposal resulting.
One of the proposals in the IPI plan is for Illinois to borrow $20 billion to tide the pensions over while the state legislature makes the needed adjustments to the pension laws. IPI Director Jim Tillman is saying that his plan is a case of “responsible borrowing” a claim that the IAFG finds risible.
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Dueling Illinois Policy Groups: IAFG Smacks Around the IPI”
Let the Spinning Begin
One would think that Tuesday’s historic upset in Massachusetts (largely fueled by voters unhappy with partisan health care “reform”, according to exit polls) would give the current D.C. establishment pause. Apparently, not yet. Watch as David Axelrod and Robert Gibbs spin their way into denial in the video above.
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Ill. Policy Institute: It’s Brown 41!”
The State of the State is…
Yesterday, Governor Pat Quinn gave his “State of the State” address—and, by pretty much all accounts, Illinois has seen better days. John Tillman appeared on WTTW’s Chicago Tonight last night to give his assessment of Governor Quinn’s speech. You can watch by clicking the video above.
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Illinois Policy Institute: State of the State is…?”
The national health care debate continues, but as of now, it’s behind closed doors. CSPAN wants transparency. Sounds pretty reasonable, right? President Obama certainly thought so on the campaign trail. Will he let the cameras in for full, comprehensive coverage of the debates, or renege on his transparency pledge? Stay tuned.
Ill. Policy Institute: Eight Big Obama Whoppers?”
What went into Congress’s latest $1.1 trillion spending bill? A $9.3 million bailout for the Windy City’s favorite financial black hole, the CTA (which runs deficits every year) and $340,000 to buy property no one wants. Kristina Rasmussen, our executive vice president, weighed in on Fox Business News last week. You can watch by clicking the video above.
Funding Four-Legged Friends
Does your neighbor have eleven cats? Just one dog? An ornery little hamster? If so, you may soon be funding these four-legged friends—that is, if Michigan Republican Thaddeus McCotter has his way. McCotter has proposed a $3500 tax credit for, yes, people’s pets. You can watch John Tillman discuss the issue tonight at 5:00 on CBS 2 Chicago.
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Ill. Policy Institute: Santa’s Bringing….Dog Food???”
-By Warner Todd Huston
Jerry Agar is a Chicago area radio host and a member of the Illinois Policy Institute, a free-market centric policy center. Agar also has a column on the IPI website often centered around a list of one type of another. Today’s piece is titled, “10 Ways to Stop Political Corruption in Illinois.”
He begins:
Since 1970, more than 1500 individuals have been convicted, and the cost to Illinois taxpayers is estimated at $500 million a year. If we had that money back, instead of just watching an endless perp-walk, we would be in much better shape on several levels.
Agar goes on to list his ten points, but most of them seem to have an aspect of government transparency to them — such as number ten, “Appoint the Sunshine Commission”
Now, I have to say that I agree with an effort at state transparency. DuPage County has done a fantastic job putting all its business transactions, funding, and accounts online for everyone to see. This sort of thing can lead to two things. One, that govt officials might feel less likely to waste and steal tax money if their accounts are so easily discovered by the voters, and two… well, two is that the voters can see what their government is doing.
Still, transparency is not the only thing we can and should do to clean up government. We, the voters, need to be far more careful of who we vote into office in the first place. Being an informed voter is even more important than transparency.
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Ten Ways to Stop Illinois Corruption”
-By Warner Todd Huston
Last night I was invited to attend a Christmas get together sponsored by the Illinois Policy Institute. This year’s theme was feeding the hungry in Africa and bringing economic freedom to developing nations. We heard some interesting presentations from Paul Wormley of the One Acre Fund as well as Tim Probasco of Opportunity International, both involved with helping subsistence farmers in Africa and India to become self-sufficient and to work toward creating financial success by selling their products at market. Both organizations take different approaches toward the same market oriented goals and both are efforts worthy of support. Best of all both organizations base their assistance on free market principles as opposed to mere charity work.
But, before the serious discussions of hunger in Africa and India and economic assistance to the impoverished began, we were serenaded by a charming group of kids from a local Chicago school operated by the KIPP: Ascend charter school program.
An IPI Christmas: Feeding The Hungry, Bringing Opportunity to Developing Nations”
-By Warner Todd Huston
Kate Campigne Piercy, director of government reform for the Illinois Policy Institute, recently penned an interesting piece for The Chicago Sun Times that informed us all that the Illinois Commerce Dept. bought $2,821 worth of Hot Sauce during fiscal year 2009.
That’s not all, either.
What’s the need for a typewriter in a computer-centric world? The Illinois Employment Security Department spent $245.80 on a Brother ML100 Typewriter — in addition to $12,176.54 on a Canon Microfilm/ Fiche Printer.
The governor’s office shelled out $20,692.24 on “subscriptions.” The Commerce Department spent $3,770 for golf carts, $280 on soy crayons and $2,821 on hot sauce –all with Illinois citizens’ tax dollars. That must be some good hot sauce.
The good news is… well, some good news, anyway… we can now go to a new website where we can view these wastes of the taxpayer’s money so that we can have the ammunition we need to eliminate this wild spending and hold the politicians responsible to account.
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$2,821 of Hot Sauce Bought By YOUR Illinois Taxes”
From the Illinois Policy Institute:
In case you missed it, Heather Wilhelm, our vice president of marketing and communications, was featured in the Wall Street Journal today. Her article, “Is Ayn Rand Bad for the Market?”, has drawn a tremendous response from both fans and critics. You can read the full article in the Wall Street Journal here. If you’d like to see Heather’s response to the critics of her piece, you can visit our blog here.
Also, last night, the Institute was featured on “The Political Grapevine” on Fox News’ Special Report show. You can watch the feature here, which includes a blog post written by our executive vice president Kristina Rasmussen.
Nothing to See Here, Folks…
The leaked e-mails of the Climategate scandal have been nothing short of stunning—except, of course, to the true believers in the White House. You can watch Obama’s press secretary Robert Gibbs in full denial mode by clicking the image above. Meanwhile, stay tuned for our newest report, set for release next week, which shows the direct consequences of cap and trade schemes for Illinois.
That Better Be Some Spicy Hot Sauce!
In 2008, Illinois state government spent $7,875 on “bird testing,” $20,692.24 on “subscriptions” for the Governor’s office, $3,770 for golf carts, $2,822 on hot sauce, and $280 on soy crayons – all funded by Illinois taxpayers.
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Illinois Policy Institute Update”
What’s Getting Under Pelosi’s Skin? Our newest health care study, that’s what! “Adding Insult to Injury,” which we released yesterday, has already hit the national airwaves. Congressman Peter Roskam appeared on Fox News yesterday, citing our study’s findings that Illinois will lose 169,000 jobs (and the nation 3.8 million) if the current health care bill passes.
We discovered other unfortunate side effects of the plan, including economic shrinkage of 5.1% and a $4,418 price tag for each Illinoisan. You can watch our CEO’s remarks at yesterday’s Chicago press conference here.
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Illinois Policy Institute: What’s Getting Under Pelosi’s Skin?”
