The Illinois Policy Institute (IPI) is a non-profit think tank based in Chicago, Illinois. The institute supports limited government and free-market principles.
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Overview
The Illinois Policy Institute, a public policy research organization, was founded in 2002 and has offices in Chicago and Springfield. The Institute has been described as an independent government watchdog, conservative, libertarian, free-market, and nonpartisan.
The Illinois Policy Institute is a 501(c)(3) public charity with an associated lobbying unit called the Illinois Policy Action, a 501(c)(4). The Institute also has an affiliated public-interest law firm named the Liberty Justice Center. The Illinois News Network, which employs writers to supply newspapers with articles free of charge, is a sister organization. The Illinois Policy Institute is a member of the State Policy Network. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Institute is not required to disclose its donors. Bruce Rauner, at the time chairman of the Chicago-based private equity firm GTCR, donated $525,000 to the Institute between 2008 and 2013. He has not contributed to IPI since 2013.
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Activities
The Illinois Policy Institute's policy research covers criminal justice, cronyism, and budget and economic issues.
The Illinois Policy Institute has been active in public policy areas including supporting state spending cuts and opposing state tax increases, supporting public pension reform, and advocating for school choice including expanding charter schools. In 2010, then-Illinois State Senator James Meeks (D-Chicago) spoke at an Institute luncheon in support of proposed legislation to offer school vouchers to 42,000 Chicago Public School students. The bill advanced through the Illinois Senate but did not pass the Illinois House of Representatives.
The Institute has been part of a bipartisan coalition supporting criminal-justice reform in Illinois. In 2015, the Institute supported Illinois House Bill 218, which would decriminalize marijuana in the state. The Institute has also supported police reforms such as body cameras. In 2015, the Illinois General Assembly passed a law approving the use of police body cameras statewide.
In January 2015, the Liberty Justice Center filed a lawsuit against the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity for awarding millions of taxpayer dollars in excessive business tax credits to private organizations. The Institute supports eliminating the DCEO.
In 2015, the Illinois General Assembly passed the most competitive crowdfunding regulations in the country. Before the bill passed, the Institute played a part in educating the public about the importance of this new funding mechanism as a means for business and jobs growth. Lawmakers and media used the Institute's research when reporting on the issue.
The Institute has drawn attention to trend of out-migration in Illinois. In 2015, the Institute published a study highlighting U.S. Census data to show that in 2014, the state had the second-largest net loss in the nation of people moving to other states. |newspaper=Chicago Tribune
In 2013-2014, the Institute opposed a progressive tax supported by public employee unions and some legislators.
Each year since 2009, the Institute has provided a balanced budget proposal for the state of Illinois, which has not passed a balanced budget since 2001.
The Institute has been involved in the fight to legalize food-cart street vending in Chicago. In 2015, the group published a study showing that legalizing the industry could bring 6,400 new jobs to the city, as well as $8.5 million in new revenue. Chicago city alderman passed an Institute-backed ordinance that overturned the city's ban on food carts on September 24, 2015.
In 2014, the Illinois Policy Institute produced video and blog content opposed to the regulation of ridesharing by the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago.
In 2013, the Institute provided research in support of legislation that would add fiscal notes to proposed legislation in the Illinois General Assembly so politicians understand the full financial impact of a bill before passing it. The bill gained bipartisan support.
In July 2013, the Institute applied through the State Policy Network for funding from the Searle Freedom Trust for a campaign to work with Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel and state legislators to convert the City of Chicago's government employee pension system to a defined contribution plan system based on Institute draft legislation.
The Institute has graded the transparency practices of various governmental bodies. In 2010, the Institute established an annual Sunshine Award, which recognizes city governments that are judged by the Institute to be in the top 1% for government transparency. The Institute supported legislation proposed by Illinois State Senators Martin Sandoval (D-Chicago) and Kirk Dillard (R-Westmont) to publish data on state grants to nonprofit groups in an online database of Illinois state spending. The proposed legislation did not pass. In 2012, the Institute's Liberty Justice Center sued the city of Evanston, Illinois for not allowing food trucks to vend in the city.
Awards
In 2014, Hilary Gowins, managing editor of IPI's blog, earned the group's first Lisagor Award. IPI policy analyst Bryant Jackson-Green and Liberty Justice Center senior attorney Jacob Huebert both won Lisagor Awards in 2015.
In 2015, Illinois Policy Action won PR News' "Nonprofit PR Award" in the category "advocacy campaign and lobbying efforts" for its 2014 campaign in favor of Illinois' "fair, flat tax." IPI was also a runner-up in the "blog" category for its feature, "Dewonked."
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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