Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Illinois’ financial health was the worst in the nation. An unprecedented influx of federal stimulus and bailouts, combined with stronger-than-expected rebounds in tax revenues, saved Illinois from financial ruin. If state lawmakers do not take advantage of this incredibly rare opportunity and pursue structural financial reforms, then state finances will return to their pre-pandemic status quo.
Illinois government unions wrote the law that gives them a monopoly over all government employees in a unionized workplace. And that means they can’t discriminate against workers who choose not to be members.
Voters should reject Amendment 1, which would create a "democracy" in which democratically elected lawmakers lose power to make laws, replaced by contract terms negotiated between public worker unions and the elected officials they control, warns the Illinois Policy Institute
Voters will get to decide on Nov. 8 if Illinois can 'bend' to fix its problems, or 'break' under the weight of unchecked government worker union demands, says Brad Weisenstein, of the Illinois Policy Institute
Appeals panel says the pro-union Amendment 1 must be approved by voters before it can be challenged in court, even though opponents say the amendment's language already blatantly conflicts with federal law and is itself unconstitutional
Plaintiffs say the proposed Illinois state constitutional amendment would allow unions to use collective bargaining agreements to override state and federal law, which the plaintiffs say makes Amendment 1 unconstitutional from the start
A group of Cook County taxpayers, with lawyers from the Liberty Justice Center and Illinois Policy Institute, say the measure, known as Amendment 1, would unconstitutionally give unions expansive new powers that exceed the limits on union organizing and bargaining set by federal law
While billed as a "workers rights amendment," Amendment 1 - which will be on the ballot this fall in Illinois - would give unions the power to use collective bargaining to override a wide range of state laws that apply to everyone else, says the Illinois Policy Institute
Voters can deal a blow to the legacy of former House Speaker Michael Madigan, who is indicted on public corruption and racketeering charges, if they defeat Amendment 1 at the polls this fall, says the Illinois Policy Institute
Property taxes are the real thieves attacking the house used in the holiday movie ‘Home Alone.’ The house is available for a one-night stay this holiday, but not all taxes are included.
Clinton County Circuit Judge Don Sheafor on Wednesday granted a temporary restraining order against Carlyle School District 1 and superintendent Annie Gray over the district's student mask mandate.
Fourth Judicial Circuit Chief Judge Judge Douglas Jarman on Wednesday ruled against Teutopolis Unit 50 School District and its superintendent Matthew Sturgeon over the Effingham County school district's mask requirement.
Gov. J.B Pritzker has warned district administrators since early August that ISBE would strip state recognition from Illinois schools defying his statewide mask mandate. House Bill 4135 aims to give the state board of education that power.
Illinois is listed as one of the states under ‘extreme’ danger of partisan gerrymandering of its state legislative and congressional redistricting maps. Gov. J.B. Pritzker can stop that threat.
Wirepoints president Mark Glennon says the Illinois Supreme Court should have engaged on the merits of the claims in a taxpayer lawsuit vs the state over borrowing, particularly since the court did not dismiss the lawsuit as "frivolous," as state officials have characterized the suit.
“The state must pare back its portfolio so that it can better fulfill its basic obligations to its citizens,” opined Nicole Kurokawa in the 2010 Illinois Piglet Book, a joint project of the Illinois Policy Institute and Citizens Against Government Waste that identified more than $350 million in wasteful spending.
Lawyers for the state and for one of Illinois' more prominent conservative taxpayers argued before the Illinois Supreme Court over whether taxpayers have the right at all to challenge state lawmakers' borrowing practices in court.
