Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was sentenced this week to 14 years in prison, but the real sentence is the one taxpayers will serve many years after. He mastered the art of pairing populist rhetoric with expensive new programs directed
Faced with a $315 million budget shortfall, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle has proposed serious changes to how county officials spend taxpayers’ money. She’s challenging the public employee union bosses to come to the negotiating table. She aims to
President Obama’s home state of Illinois is proving to be an example of “what not to do” when it comes to promoting job growth, and a massive income tax hike was among the poor policy choices recently pursued by Democratic
Government unions are suing the State of Illinois for not issuing what would have been their third round of raises in just seven months. Last week, members of AFSCME took to the street to demand “fair pay.” Do Illinois state
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is traveling to Springfield, Illinois today to do a fundraiser for Bill Brady, the Republican gubernatorial candidate. While he’s in town, Christie should drop by the capitol and give Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, a Democrat,
John Tillman, CEO of the Illinois Policy Institute, offers his thoughts on the GOP spat over Christine O’Donnell’s victory in Delaware. It’s a refreshing read. Tuesday night, I happened to be watching live when Karl Rove fulminated on the Christine
Traveling on Amtrak’s Texas Eagle from Chicago to St. Louis on November 10 will set you back $24. More, if you want to ride in a first class sleeper car compartment. Add $136 for a superliner roomette, $217 for a
Paris Hilton may be able to shop without looking at price tags, but the State of Illinois doesn’t have that luxury–particularly when it already has $4.7 billion in unpaid bills. Even so, state legislators receive precious little information on how
The June edition of Glamour magazine features a Katie Couric interview of singer Sheryl Crow. When asked about the Tea Party movement, here’s what Sheryl had to say: KATIE COURIC: What do you think of the Tea Party movement? Because
The Wall Street Journal’s William McGurn takes a closer look at an important bipartisan effort underway in Illinois: Contrary to all the obituaries, hope and change and a new spirit of bipartisanship are alive and well in Barack Obama’s America.
Wednesday’s Wall Street Journal editorial highlighted the baby steps Illinois is taking toward enacting public employee pension reform, noting that this could be the “start of a nationwide backlash against the scandal of runaway public pensions.” State government employees in
Recovery.gov has a vast and challenging mandate: “to allow taxpayers to see precisely what entities receive [stimulus] money in addition to how and where the money is spent.” To its credit, Recovery.gov offers a fascinating look into how government goes
Illinois’s home health care workers have rejected an attempt to unionize providers under the auspices of SEIU and AFSCME. From CBS Chicago: Illinois workers who are paid by the state to care for severely disabled people in their homes have
Dan Proft, Illinois gubernatorial candidate, released the following Thursday: The plot thickens — as in SEIU’s pay-to-play plots in state government, including its most recent naked power grab: Its repugnant effort to intervene between children with disabilities and their parents
Earlier today Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty explained to BigGovernment.com readers how the Baucus health care plan is a prescription for higher taxes and higher premiums. In keeping with the theme that good perspectives and ideas often come from the states,
According to a 2008 annual progress report from the Illinois Housing Development Authority, “ACORN Housing” was listed as a recipient of a $100,000 capacity building grant for a “Predatory Lending Database Program.” The funding was announced in November 2008. Rebecca
Three state legislators have asked Illinois Governor Pat Quinn (D) for the suspension of all state funding and contracts with the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) pending a review of the group’s activities. The trio includes Representative