In January 2011, newly elected Illinois governor Pat Quinn imposed a 67% income tax increase on citizens and a sharp increase in the corporate tax rate to satisfy missed and unpaid bills. A month later, the state issued $3.7 billion in bonds just to make payments to unfunded state pensions. Unfortunately, …
A new poll from the Manhattan Institute reveals 77 percent of Hoosiers rate Indiana’s government as “efficient.” That’s the highest percentage of any state surveyed and a stark contrast to neighboring Illinois’ 23 percent. Gov. Mitch Daniels (R-IN), now serving in his seventh year as the state’s CEO, has clearly …
Correlation doesn’t necessarily equal causation, but some disturbing correlations are evident in the nation’s economic woes. Take Illinois. If you take a look at the chart below, you can see a startling picture. In Illinois, employment numbers increased steadily until January 2011, at which point they took a sharp dip …
It’s not every day that a company with roots as deep as the CME Group, Inc.—the parent company of the famous Chicago Mercantile Exchange and Board of Trade—would consider fleeing its home state, seeking better a better economic climate a thousand miles away. But that’s just what’s happening, and taxes …
States are desperate for ways to make their budgets more cost-effective. Illinois found a way—but the federal government won’t let the state implement a requirement that would help repair its faulty Medicaid system. Federal government health care laws are preventing a new Medicaid ID requirement—passed by bipartisan majorities in the …
Education reform is taking shape across the nation, and for many states, the next wave of change is coming as state leaders push for teacher tenure reform. Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Nevada, and New Jersey have proposed to eliminate or dramatically restructure the current form of teacher tenure. Additionally, New …
With a looming state budget deficit of nearly $13 million, many Illinois residents are wondering if their state has its priorities in order. Last night, ABC7 Chicago’s Chuck Goudie revealed $67 million in recent state payments (PDF) for a variety of pet projects. While the state wrestles with the ramifications of …
