Austin Berg, Illinois Policy Institute News
Lawsuit seeks back pay for Illinois lawmakers
Former state Sen. Michael Noland is suing for back pay after the General Assembly nixed cost-of-living adjustments and forced furlough days.
Illinois House has spent less than six hours in session this month
House members have spent as much time playing softball and basketball as they have in session since the beginning of May.
Sugary drink tax would be bitter pill to swallow
Illinois holds more than $66 million worth of stocks and bonds in PepsiCo, Coca Cola and Dr. Pepper Snapple alone.
Useless committees provide political pay raises for state lawmakers
In Illinois, bloat doesn’t discriminate.It’s not just government agencies that stick taxpayers with the bill for inefficient operations. It’s state lawmakers, too. Yes, the same ones who haven’t passed a balanced budget in over a decade.
A solution to the property tax problem
Illinois has by far the most units of government in the nation, at nearly 7,000.
Why a budget won't fix Illinois
Pension costs alone now consume a quarter of the Illinois state budget.
Why all Illinoisans need action on workers' comp
The cost of workers’ compensation for municipalities, counties and state government in Illinois is more than $400 million per year.
Madigan's millions: Why the Speaker should release his tax returns
Every dollar Madigan earns back for his corporate clients makes someone else’s property-tax bill go up.
Members of the Illinois House of Representatives who gave Michael Madigan unlimited power
Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan isn’t a typical state representative.
Illinoisans who vote for Madigan
Just as Illinoisans elect state representatives, state representatives elect the speaker of the House every two years. To become the speaker, Madigan just needs a majority vote.
Food trucks fight for the right to exist
City officials in Chicago and across the state are crushing a pillar of the culinary community. But food trucks are fighting back.
Madigan's map
In a 4-3 ruling, the Illinois Supreme Court erased from November ballots a referendum on legislative mapmaking, and handed a major victory to Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan Aug. 25.
Why Madigan wants the map
Illinois politicians love to be involved in choosing their voters, especially Madigan.
Number of Chicago city workers making $100K-plus has doubled since 2013
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is heralding a massive water-sewer-tax hike as a grand bargain between taxpayers and city employees, but new payroll data show it’s not exactly a shared sacrifice.
Illinoisans suffer, politicians get paid
Members of the Illinois General Assembly should end pensions for politicians once and for all. And a pay cut would send an equally powerful message. Their job performance demands as much.
Illinois’ AFSCME contract needs a reality check
State lawmakers justify keeping in lockstep with AFSCME by saying they’re fighting for the middle class. But middle-class Illinoisans who don’t work for the government are struggling to stay afloat amid flatlining incomes and a stagnant economy.
Illinois’ opioid crisis and the dark side of workers’ comp
Through a process called physician dispensing, Illinois doctors can not only prescribe drugs but also sell them to injured workers. Research shows that when physicians are allowed to do this, they prescribe 3.2 times the quantity of opioid drugs they would prescribe otherwise.
Madigan muzzles Illinoisans on term limits
Term limits aren’t just a cosmetic change. They aren’t a feel-good Coke commercial. They’re a powerful reform that can make Illinois democracy work again
Chicago alderman saved Trump $11.7 million in property tax appeal scheme
A new report revealed that Klafter & Burke, a property-tax law firm owned by Chicago Alderman Ed Burke, helped Donald Trump cut property taxes on his downtown Chicago hotel by nearly 40 percent over seven years, saving Trump and his investors $11.7 million.
The SEIU is hurting Illinois caregivers
When the SEIU fails to make caregiver interests a top priority, it’s unsurprising that nearly half of caregivers statewide aren’t union members. Teaming up with lawmakers to require family members to put their loved ones in strangers’ hands to attend an in-person training session is just one example of this.