IL spending cuts hit mental health, help balance budget
By Andrew Thomason | Illinois Statehouse News SPRINGFIELD — Members of the mental health community claim Gov. Pat Quinn’s proposed $53 million spending cut will cost the state in the long run, but...
View ArticlePA roads, bridges crumble as politicos wait for action
State has 5,000 bridges, 7,000 miles of roads needing repair By Eric Boehm | PA Independent HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania has been gambling with its more than 5,000 structurally deficient bridges and 7,000...
View ArticleWI may have real say in GOP presidential primary
By Kirsten Adshead | Wisconsin Reporter MADISON — Wisconsin’s GOP presidential primary might matter after all. “Wisconsin’s primary may very well have an impact on this race, and I’ll be honest with...
View ArticlePoll: Majority of WI voters don’t support Walker recall
By M.D. Kittle | Wisconsin Reporter MADISON — A majority of Wisconsinites — albeit slim — approve of the job Gov. Scott Walker is doing, and a wider majority don’t care for the campaign to recall...
View ArticleWalker signs new WI wetlands law
By Ryan Ekvall | Wisconsin Reporter MADISON — Gov. Scott Walker on Wednesday cut through regulatory red tape, when he signed into law a new wetlands act that streamlines the permitting process in...
View ArticleElection agency seeks more time for WI recall review
By M.D. Kittle | Wisconsin Reporter MADISON — Days after a Dane County Court denied Gov. Scott Walker’s campaign an extension to vet a reported 1 million recall signatures, the Government...
View ArticleMom weeps as Senate OKs school-bus safety law named after daughter
By Lynn Campbell | IowaPolitics.com DES MOINES — Kadyn’s death could save another child’s life. The 7-year-old rural Kensett girl died last May when a speeding driver failed to stop for her, just...
View ArticlePA $2.5M jobs initiative matches job makers, seekers
Dept. Labor & Industry Secretary: will connect with employers in new ways By Eric Boehm | PA Independent HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania is playing matchmaker — newly unemployed resident meet business...
View ArticleMan accused of threatening Walker, others awaits trial
By M.D. Kittle | Wisconsin Reporter MADISON — A Portland, Maine, man accused of threatening Gov. Scott Walker, as well as the governor of Maine and several members of Congress, remains behind bars...
View ArticleSurvey: KS tax burdens heavier than once thought
By Gene Meyer | Kansas Reporter TOPEKA — A new national study says Kansas business owners pay some of the highest taxes in the country. No surprise there, one business owner said. “We have so many...
View ArticleVA’s kinship care bill could lead to ‘school shopping’
Hannah Hess | Virginia Statehouse News RICHMOND — Williamsburg Christian Academy, as its name suggests, is a small, private school built on biblical principles and beliefs. The school, which...
View ArticleVA’s eminent domain bill could open Pandora’s box of claims
By Carten Cordell | Virginia Statehouse News ALEXANDRIA — Jim Close won't soon forget the effects of Norfolk's decision to install sewer lines, which were being placed to support a pair of...
View ArticleClosure date for IL mental health center may be too soon
By Andrew Thomason | Illinois Statehouse News SPRINGFIELD — Moving requires planning — picking a new house, qualifying for a mortgage and then packing. Imagine moving the 184 residents of Jacksonville...
View ArticleOpponents take aim at Illinois proposed ammunition tax
By Anthony Brino | Illinois Statehouse News SPRINGFIELD — Illinoisans, especially those downstate, may need to bite the bullet, so to speak, as lawmakers take aim on an ammunition tax. “The bottom line...
View ArticleWI lawmaker: Political threats only going to get worse
By M.D. Kittle | Wisconsin Reporter MADISON — Joel Kleefisch said the nastiness can be relentless. But the verbal assaults on his wife, Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, and his...
View ArticleCounty sheriffs oppose adding Second Amendment to Iowa Constitution
By Lynn Campbell | IowaPolitics.com DES MOINES — Iowa’s guns rights would be the most powerful in the nation, under a proposed state constitutional amendment that cleared the Iowa House this week....
View ArticleBoom time? Illinois gas, oil, drilling rules get new look
By Anthony Brino | Illinois Statehouse News SPRINGFIELD — With a potential oil and gas boom on the horizon in southern Illinois, some proposals for new regulations havebipartisan and industry support....
View ArticleWeek in review: WI’s mining bill teeters, GAB seeks more time
By Kirsten Adshead | Wisconsin Reporter MADISON — With just a couple of weeks left in the legislative session, the future of mining legislation is getting dimmer. Another proposed compromise on the...
View ArticleWeek in review: PA focuses on spending, elections
By PA Independent Staff HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania taxpayers watched this week as lawmakers took on spending from education to jobs while eye-opening developments shed light on the upcoming elections....
View ArticleUnemployment fund’s insolvency continues to burden PA businesses
Debate continues on how to correct long-term problems By Eric Boehm | PA Independent HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania businesses are on the hook for $139 million in payments to the federal government this...
View ArticleDOC says ‘flat’ jail population will save PA taxpayers millions
By Stacy Brown | PA Independent HARRISBURG — A further decline in recidivism could keep the Department of Corrections’ funding levels flat in the upcoming budget, said department secretary John Wetzel....
View ArticleVirginia lawmakers fail to move foreclosure bill
By Hannah Hess | Virginia Statehouse News RICHMOND — Chantilly real estate agent John Thompson has, since 2007, delivered the news of foreclosure dozens of times. Never is it easy. One such...
View ArticleKS pension committee makes third go at pension problems
By Gene Meyer | Kansas Reporter TOPEKA — Kansas lawmakers are taking a third whack at fixing the state pension plan with an alternative that limits costs to taxpayers as it guarantees lifetime...
View ArticleHopes of an old mining town live in WI mining bill
By Ryan Ekvall and M.D. Kittle | Wisconsin Reporter HURLEY — Bars, restaurants and strip clubs line both sides of Silver Street, Hurley’s main drag. The brick buildings, built in the early 20th...
View ArticleIllinois’ public pension problems are worse than numbers show
By Andrew Thomason | Illinois Statehouse News SPRINGFIELD — Illinois’ pension problems could be worse than the numbers show. Years of under funding or borrowing to pay the annual pension obligation,...
View ArticleFederal stimulus warped Pennsylvania’s education spending in both directions
Tomalis: Stimulus ‘kicked the can’ down the road for districts with financial difficulties By Eric Boehm | PA Independent HARRISBURG — Federal stimulus money warped Pennsylvania’s education budget both...
View ArticleLack of finality in GOP presidential nomination keeps Iowa delegates in play
By Lynn Campbell | IowaPolitics.com DES MOINES — Iowa’s influence in choosing presidential nominees generally diminishes after its first-in-the-nation caucuses. But this year could be different...
View ArticleWisconsin’s contentious mining bill gets union allies
By Kirsten Adshead | Wisconsin Reporter MADISON — State Senate Republicans hoping to pass a controversial mining bill got a big boost Monday from what typically is a core Democratic constituency —...
View ArticleKS Senate education chiefs offer school funding increase
By Gene Meyer | Kansas Reporter TOPEKA — The big assignment for the Kansas Senate Education Committee leaders this week entails coming up with a way to finance the state’s schools. Efforts toward the...
View Article‘Retired’ Atlantic City tourism cop hits NJ pension jackpot
By Mark Lagerkvist | New Jersey Watchdog Tom Gilbert never really retired, but he collects a $93,380-a-year state pension. The commander of the Atlantic City Tourism District “retired” last year,...
View ArticleIL bill takes aim at dangerous animals, owners with fees
By Anthony Brino and Andrew Thomason | Illinois Statehouse News SPRINGFIELD — What do a kangaroo, grizzly bear and hippopotamus have in common? They could cost their owners a pretty hefty fee. Senate...
View ArticleIL concealed carry bill could end in misfire
By Benjamin Yount | Illinois Statehouse News SPRINGFIELD — Once again, downstate Illinois lawmakers in both parties have sent to the House legislation that would allow people to carry a pistol. And,...
View ArticlePA voter ID bill: Violates rights or just way of life?
Senate expects to vote bill on Wednesday By Stacy Brown | PA Independent HARRISBURG — If photo identification is required for seeking a driver’s license, boarding a plane, borrowing a library book and...
View ArticleDEP budget cut not affecting PA gas well checks
Impact fee revenue is expected to help offset some of the cuts By Eric Boehm | PA Independent HARRISBURG — A proposed $10 million cut in state aid will not prevent the Pennsylvania Department of...
View ArticleLocal leaders to VA politicos: Do your job, pass a budget
By Hannah Hess | Virginia Statehouse News RICHMOND — Democrats in the Virginia Senate are refusing to sign off on the $85 billion Republican budget, frustrating taxpayers, lawmakers and local leaders...
View ArticleControversial mining bill in limbo; WI Senate fails to vote
By Kirsten Adshead | Wisconsin Reporter MADISON — Wisconsin’s mining bill isn’t dead, but it’s on life support. The state Senate on Tuesday failed to vote on a mining bill that streamlines the state’s...
View ArticleVA pursues fund to move forward with gas alternatives
By Carten Cordell | Virginia Statehouse News ALEXANDRIA — Rapidly rising prices at gas pumps statewide are pushing Virginia to move forward with converting its fleet of vehicles to natural or...
View ArticleStudy: PA biz tax burden ranks among highest in US
Corporate income tax rate is worst in the nation By Stacy Brown | PA Independent HARRISBURG — For the manufacturing industry, Pennsylvania’s tax rate is among the friendliest in the nation, but its...
View ArticleIA politicos look to audits in targeting small-town fraud
By Lynn Campbell | IowaPolitics.com DES MOINES — The almost $65,000 in taxpayer money that former Pleasant Plain City Clerk Clark Ann Gingerich used to buy a long list of personal items was more than...
View ArticleVA uses websites to boost transparency, get awards
By Carten Cordell | Virginia Statehouse News ALEXANDRIA — Transparency has gone high-tech in some Virginia localities, with government meetings transported live from city halls to mobile phones and...
View ArticleVA biz groups: No new jobs without state budget
By Hannah Hess | Virginia Statehouse News RICHMOND — Virginia's unemployment rate, now at 6.2 percent, may climb, if lawmakers fail to pass a budget, some state business leaders said Wednesday. "It's...
View ArticlePA’s effort to fight health-care law may be futile
Constitutional amendment, referendum may come too late By Eric Boehm | PA Independent HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania Republican lawmakers may want to thumb their nose at the federal health-care law, but...
View ArticleBudget battle begins between IL gov, lawmakers
By Andrew Thomason | Illinois Statehouse News SPRINGFIELD — The stage has been set for a spending showdown between the General Assembly and Gov. Pat Quinn. The Illinois Senate on Wednesday set its...
View ArticleLegal bills mount in contractor’s suit against Houston schools trustee
By Mike Cronin | Texas Watchdog HOUSTON — A civil lawsuit accusing Houston schools Trustee Larry Marshall of bribery, money laundering, wire fraud and racketeering filed a year-and-a-half ago has cost...
View ArticleVA gov wants cuts to pay for bonuses for state workers
By David Frisk | Virginia Statehouse News RICHMOND — Gov. Bob McDonnell and state-employee groups are at odds over his proposal to fund a salary bonus with cuts to state agencies. Among the governor’s...
View ArticleFor-profit ed companies set to get $4M in IA tax money
By Sheena Dooley | Iowa Watchdog DES MOINES — More than $4.1 million of Iowa taxpayer dollars will be shipped out of state next year to two for-profit education companies with a poor track record in...
View ArticlePA House to be critical of Senate’s budget plan
GOP at odds over spending increase By Melissa Daniels | PA Independent HARRISBURG — The state House has the Senate’s state budget plan, but a mix of opinions portend a controversial approval process....
View ArticleEstablishment picks faces off in FL’s 22nd District
By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog MIAMI — More than four months remain until the primaries for the Republican and Democratic parties in Florida, but the parties have decided on their candidates for...
View ArticleAudit: Employee used investments by College Illinois! for personal gain
By Andrew Thomason | Illinois Statehouse News SPRINGFIELD — At least one former employee of Illinois’ beleaguered prepaid tuition program personally benefited by the investment firms the program...
View ArticleIL Senate leader wants biz to make tax returns public
By Anthony Brino | Illinois Statehouse News SPRINGFIELD — Illinois‘ Senate leader wants to require publicly traded corporations operating in the state to disclose certain financial information, an...
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