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Posts tagged "Illinois"

Wis. Gov. Scott Walker sticks it to Illinois

In prepared remarks at the Conservative Political Action meeting in Washington, D.C., Walker compared what was happening in his state with Illinois: Contrast that with my neighbor to the south. There is no greater example of the failed policies we are running against than the mess we see in Illinois. Last year, Governor Quinn proudly... Read more »
By Dennis Byrne,
February 11, 2012 at 8:59 am
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Months after shutdown fight, Minnesota projects an $876 million surplus

Illinois apparently doesn’t have the guts and the smarts to do the same!
By Dennis Byrne,
December 2, 2011 at 2:08 pm
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After 90 years, Catholic Charities out of foster care. Happy now?

Catholic Charities appears to have thrown in the towel, after fighting an Illinois decision that the organization no longer is qualified to place troubled, abandoned and orphaned children with caring traditional families. Catholic Charities, you might say, brought this upon itself by standing up for its principles and refusing to place children because it doesn’t... Read more »
By Dennis Byrne,
November 14, 2011 at 6:47 pm
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Michael Madigan's $500 million boondoggle

Crain’s Chicago Business has the story: Illinois Speaker Michael Madigan Cost Taxpayers up to $500 Million in Higher McCormick Place Debt Payments Crain’s Chicago Business investigation reports how politics put Chicago’s $8 billion trade show industry at risk.  Chicago, Illinois – Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan cost taxpayers nearly a half billion dollars by blocking repeated efforts that would... Read more »
By Dennis Byrne,
November 13, 2011 at 8:00 pm
• 1 comment

AFSCME is long on "no," but short on answers for Illinois' pension crisis

This WTTW discussion/interview/debate about Illinois’ underfunded pensions is amazing for how a representative of the public employees union got away with dodging the question: What would you do? A three-tiered pension reform bill made it out of a House committee, but its prospects on the House floor are uncertain. (Details of the bill are here.)... Read more »
By Dennis Byrne,
November 10, 2011 at 10:41 am
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'Cowardice' is why Michael Madigan might stymie Illinois pension reform

That’s according to a business group that is lobbying “with sharp elbows” to reform the lavish Illinois public employee pensions. The Chicago News Cooperative puts it all into perspective as D-Day for pension reforms arrives on Thursday. It’s worth a read here... Read more »
By Dennis Byrne,
November 7, 2011 at 11:22 am
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A look inside the paranoid mind of CTU president Karen Lewis

Karen Lewis, president of the Chicago Teachers Union, joins the conspiratorial mindset of Occupyisters, going so far as blaming Steve Jobs and Bill Gates for the troubles that teachers’ unions are having. Never does she concede that perhaps part of the problem could be the suffocating, hide-bound institution that she and the CTU have helped create... Read more »
By Dennis Byrne,
November 4, 2011 at 9:06 am
• 1 comment

Electoral College reform; would it work in Illinois?

Illinois is one of 48 states that give all of its electoral votes to the presidential candidate that wins all of the state’s electoral votes. Because of widespread discontent over the occasional  loser having a bigger popular vote than the winner, various kinds of reform have been offered. One that appears to be gaining steam... Read more »
By Dennis Byrne,
October 26, 2011 at 4:35 pm
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A good round-up of major bills to be debated in Illinois legislature's veto session

By Dennis Byrne,
October 25, 2011 at 12:55 pm
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Should Illinois public employee pensions be a top priority?

Not at the expense of other crisises llinois’ biggest problem is the state budget; the budget’s biggest problem is the plush pensions for public employees; lavish pensions are a problem because of a constitutional clause that bans the “diminishment or impairment” of their benefits. How did we get into this mess? If we understand how... Read more »
By Dennis Byrne,
October 18, 2011 at 7:42 am
• 1 comment