CTBA Staff

Ralph Martire is Executive Director of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability (“CTBA”), a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) think tank committed to ensuring that state, federal and local workforce, education, fiscal, economic and budget policies are fair and just, and promote opportunity for all, regardless of race, ethnicity or income class. He is also the Rubloff Professor of Public Policy at Roosevelt University. During his time at CTBA, Ralph has helped obtain numerous legislative successes (including passage of the Evidence Based Model of Education Funding in FY2018, a state Earned Income Tax Credit, creation of a bipartisan legislative task force to integrate workforce and economic development policies, passage of the 2011 Temporary Tax Increases, corporate accountability legislation that, among other things, requires public reporting of economic development benefits created through receipt of tax breaks and other subsidies, decoupling Illinois tax policy from both the federal bonus depreciation rules and the federal repeal of the estate tax).

In 2018, Ralph was appointed to serve on the legislatively established “Professional Review Panel,” charged with monitoring the implementation of Illinois’ new evidence-based school funding formula. He was also appointed to the Transition Team of Governor-elect J.B. Pritzker.  In 2011-2013, Ralph served as a full voting commissioner on the Congressionally-established “Equity and Excellence in Education Commission,” which was housed in the Federal Department of Education’s Civil Rights Division. In addition to his professorship at Roosevelt University, he has taught fiscal policy seminars and education finance courses for various universities and the International Fulbright Scholar Program.

Ralph has received numerous awards for his work on education policy reform, including: being named River Forest’s Co-Villager of the Year by the Wednesday Journal for his work promoting equity in District 90; the 2007 Champion of Freedom Award, presented by the Rainbow PUSH Coalition to individuals whose professional work embodies Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s, commitment to equal educational opportunities; and the Ben C. Hubbard Leadership Award given by Illinois State University to individuals who have greatly benefited education in Illinois. He also received the Adlai Stevenson Award for Public Service presented by the American Society for Public Administration to honor one individual with a connection to the Chicago area that has made outstanding contributions to government and public administration over an extended period of time. Ralph is also a regular columnist on education, fiscal and economic policy for the State Journal Register, the Daily Herald, and The News Gazette.

He received his B.A. in History with highest honors from Indiana University, and his J.D. from the University of Michigan.

Tracy Schonberger is the Administrative Director at the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, with over twenty years of administration and management experience.  Tracy has been on staff at CTBA since its inception in 1999 and manages the overall daily office operations, including office management, technology, human resources, and contract management. Prior to joining CTBA, she was a legal secretary during which time she worked with Ralph Martire. Tracy’s time in the legal sector provided her with tremendous organizational and computer skills that has equipped her with the expertise necessary to meet the time sensitive nature of CTBA's work.

Elaine joined CTBA in June 2023 as Research Associate, and within one year was promoted to Director of Policy Analysis, with a specialization in Education Policy. Her portfolio includes, but is not limited to, K-12 Education, Higher Education, and general tax policy. Her background is in data analysis, statistics, and programming, including having prepared and presented mathematical research in partnership with the Field Museum at the Illinois Sect of the Mathematical Association of America (ISMAA). Elaine has a Masters in Economics from Roosevelt University and Bachelors in Economics from Loyola University Chicago. She started her career working in project management and financial analysis in the infrastructure industry. Elaine’s hobbies include training for and running marathons around the U.S. and reading about economic policy, sociology, and history.

As the Director of Budgetary Analysis at the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, Jade’s research areas include, but are not limited to, tax and budget policy analysis for the City of Chicago and State of Illinois. With over a decade of experience prior to joining CTBA, Jade worked in grants management for the Region V Office of Head Start, budget and grants management for Chicago Public Schools, K-12 school performance for the Legislative Budget Board and legislative affairs for the former Georgia state Representative LaDawn Jones.

Originally from Los Angeles, CA, Jade has a Master of Public Policy degree from Loyola University of Chicago, and a BA in Psychology from Hampton University. Outside of CTBA, Jade’s enjoys bootcamp style workouts at a local gym, traveling, and watching historical documentaries.

Annie Rojas is the Director of Fiscal Analysis at the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability. She was promoted to this role less than a year after joining CTBA. Annie’s portfolio spans analysis of city and state pension systems, specializing in re-amortization models to reduce long-term costs; City of Chicago budget issues; and federal tax and social policy, with a focus on assessing the distributional impacts across demographics and socioeconomic status.

Annie began her career teaching middle school math in Baltimore through Teach for America before transitioning into research and finance at the Illinois State Board of Education. There, she led internal and external research initiatives on academic and social-emotional pandemic recovery, helped direct preparation of the mixed-methods Evidence-Based Funding Five-Year Evaluative Study released in 2022, and oversaw reporting and analysis of Illinois school districts’ use of federal pandemic relief funds. These experiences ground her commitment to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of public dollars for the betterment of communities.

Annie was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago and received her B.A. in Chemistry from Williams College, her M.S. in Education from Johns Hopkins University, and her M.A. in Public Policy from the University of Chicago. In her free time, she enjoys trying new restaurants, reading, and traveling.