Teachers, Unions, and Transparency
From S.T. Karnick at The American Culture:
In case you missed it, LA Times reporters Jason Felch, Jason Song and Doug Smith used California’s public records law to obtain seven years of math and English test scores from
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Cook County Job Training Program Under Review
A state audit of a Cook County jobs training program is raising concerns about some of the program’s expenditures. The Chicago Tribune reports:
Among an audit’s 68 findings were questions about whether youths who were paid more than
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Registered Nurses Paid More Than $68K
The State of Illinois hired 910 registered nurses in fiscal year 2008 for $62,742,469 in combined total wages. The average salary was $68,947 while the highest paid registered nurse made $188,009. The Bureau of Labor Statistics website shows the mean salary for a registered nurse in Illinois was $65,130.
Cincinnati Vendors Get $11 Million in Illinois
Over $11 million from the State of Illinois went to vendors located in Cincinnati, Ohio in fiscal years 2007 and 2008.
Stroger Uses Jobs to Reward Friends, Punish Foes
A court-appointed watchdog group claims Cook County Board President Todd Stroger is “using the county payroll to reward those who backed his failed re-election effort and punish those who did not,” the Chicago Tribune reports.
Area Teachers Bring Home $100K Salaries
A high number of Chicago area school teachers earned at least $100,000 last year, the Chicago Tribune reports. In areas like Highland Park and Deerfield, nearly half of the teachers brought home six-figure salaries.
Texas Model for Transparency
Yesterday the state of Texas launched its “re-branded and redesigned” Texas.gov, the state’s official website.
Now, Texans can “search for information that matters to them, perform online transactions with 24/7 assistance, use an intuitive and effective search function,…
Chicago to FOIA: Drop Dead.
The Beachwood Reporter discusses the City of Chicago’s less than stellar response to FOIA requests from the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, which recently released its annual lobbying survey. The survey reported counties and public agencies paid lobbyists…
Medicaid Transparency Passes Both Houses
Medicaid Transparency (HB5241) has passed both Houses and now awaits a signature from the Governor. The Institute’s Kristina Rasmussen testified in support of this legislation, explaining how it would provide the following:
- Offer government administrators
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Raises in Chicago Public Schools or Not?
Check out this revealing (and entertaining) story by Chicago Reader’s Ben Joravsky about the maze of Chicago Public Schools spending and the difficulties in figuring out exactly where all the tax dollars are going and why.
Joravsky’s piece,…
