Karen Kidd Stories | Dupage Policy Journal

Rauner urged to drive his message home: 'I am on your side'

By Karen Kidd | Jul 16, 2017

Illinois' Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner needs to get on TV and in the public eye with a new narrative to win re-election next year, a conservative pundit said during a recent conservative radio talk show.

Legislators need to know how much measures will cost, pundit argues

By Karen Kidd | Jul 16, 2017

It's time for fiscal notes -- effectively the price tag on new legislation introduced into the General Assembly -- to be required in Illinois as a common sense way for lawmakers to understand how much new laws will cost taxpayers, a conservative pundit said during a recent radio talk show.

Linking Dem gubernatorial hopefuls to Madigan called strategic mistake

By Karen Kidd | Jul 15, 2017

GOP attempts to tie presumed Democrat 2018 gubernatorial front-runners J.B. Pritzker and Chris Kennedy to Illinois' powerful State House Speaker Mike Madigan and his high-tax programs will not help re-elect Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, a conservative pundit said during a recent radio talk show.

Legislators called on to advocate for religious freedom

By Karen Kidd | Jul 2, 2017

Lawmakers need to be more sensitive to religious freedom and core Christian beliefs, a spokeswoman for the group that organized "Rock the Rotunda for Religious Freedom" in the Illinois Capitol rotunda on June 28 told the Sangamon Sun.

Economist says something's got to give: pensions or public schools

By Karen Kidd | Jun 28, 2017

Public sector employees and retirees might accept less than their constitutionally protected pensions if they understand it's them or public education, an economist said on a recent Chicago-based radio show.

Illinois case described as possible harbinger of union fate

By Karen Kidd | Jun 27, 2017

An Illinois case against the state's largest private-sector employee union that was recently appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court could bring sweeping change to the entire nation, the president of an organization helping to back the plaintiffs in the case said on a recent radio talk show.

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Pennsylvania points way for Illinois pension fix, analyst says

By Karen Kidd | Jun 26, 2017

Illinois’ pension crisis is dire but will ultimately follow the precedent set by Pennsylvania, which has passed bipartisan legislation to deal with its own such crisis, a think tank analyst from that state said on a radio talk show recently.

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GOP 'Compromise' budget decried as barely different from Democrat plan

By Karen Kidd | Jun 26, 2017

The GOP-proposed compromise budget plan that includes supposedly temporary tax increases, reforms and funding for education and social programs is a major disappointment, a producer of a Chicago-based conservative radio show said on a recent broadcast.

Budget work described as cover for Dems' real goal of kicking out Rauner

By Karen Kidd | Jun 22, 2017

For all the talk about the urgency of reaching a balanced budget, it was more political theater than honest effort before the spring legislative session ended in Springfield, the founder of an online news outlet said on a radio talk show recently.

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Uber-type school bus service described as unlikely fit for Illinois

By Karen Kidd | Jun 17, 2017

A Denver school busing program known as Success Express probably would not work well in Illinois, the president of the Illinois Association for Pupil Transportation (IAPT) told the Sangamon Sun recently.

Property tax breaks could also break Rauner, Kennedy hopes, radio host says

By Karen Kidd | Jun 16, 2017

The sweetheart deals the two Democrat favorites for Illinois governor got on their property tax assessments could well come back to bite them, a radio show co-host said recently.

'Panicked' Democrats fear House downfall after approving school funding bill, radio host says

By Karen Kidd | Jun 14, 2017

Democratic state lawmakers showed their true colors in May when they demanded an investigation into an article about apparently doomed school funding legislation, a radio show co-host said recently.

Democratic lawmakers, lobbyists have no interest in helping state taxpayers, Ives contends

By Karen Kidd | Jun 13, 2017

Democratic legislators were not acting for the good of Illinois when they orchestrated the most recent failure to reach a balanced budget, Rep. Jeanne Ives (R-Wheaton) said on a Chicago radio show recently.

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Taxpayers say 'reform,' but lawmakers hear 'more taxes,' policy pro says

By Karen Kidd | Jun 12, 2017

Illinois lawmakers betray their ignorance of the needs and opinions of taxpayers when they pass huge tax increases as a way out of the ongoing budget impasse, a policy expert said on a radio program recently.

'Absurd' math used to calculate 'Comeback Agenda,' financial pro says

By Karen Kidd | May 18, 2017

There won't be any coming back for high-wage earners who will exit Illinois in a hurry if the so-called "Illinois Comeback Agenda" passes, a financial services professional said.

Analysis: Illinois 'collar counties' especially hard hit by property taxes

By Karen Kidd | May 15, 2017

A nonpartisan report on property taxes in the U.S. quantifies just how painful property taxes are in Illinois' collar state and has a direct correlation to the huge out-migration registered in those states, a Conservative pundit said during a recent radio talk show.

No mystery in botched budget pursuit, radio host says

By Karen Kidd | May 1, 2017

If Illinoisans have been on the edge of their seats waiting for the state government to come to an agreement on a balanced budget, an activist suggested a reason during a Chicago-based radio talk show recently: The situation is like something from a suspense movie.

St. Louis blues called better than Illinois ills

By Karen Kidd | Apr 30, 2017

Illinois has a peculiar way of making Missouri look good, a public policy group spokesperson said recently.

Radio host predicts Rauner vs. Kennedy in 2018

By Karen Kidd | Apr 30, 2017

Despite the aspirations of a billionaire, a state senator and a school superintendent, the Democratic Party will probably be backing the man with the political pedigree when the gubernatorial election takes place in 2018, a conservative radio host predicted recently.

Tide turning in Illinois politics, think tank exec says

By Karen Kidd | Apr 27, 2017

The April 4 elections revealed what some across Illinois have seen coming for awhile: The Democratic grip on the state is starting to loosen, a think tank executive said on a radio broadcast recently.

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