CTBA experts are available to provide insight, analysis, and data to the press on a wide range of public policy issues. In addition, CTBA disseminates new research and timely updates on policy developments to the media.
What We Do
- Policy analysis and advocacy
- Empirical research
- Advice and technical assistance
- Strategic leadership in coalitions
- Legislative testimony
- Public education
In a recent interview between ISBE Superintendent Tony Sanders and the State Journal Register, CTBA’s recent EBF report that shows the evidence-based funding (EBF) formula for schools is working as intended to reduce funding gaps was brought up. Superintendent Sanders was involved in all of the modeling work around EBF and agrees with the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability: the results have been noted and have been transformative for school districts. It's an investment we need to continue to make as a state, Sanders said.
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The state’s ‘evidence-based formula,’ created in 2018 with bipartisan legislation, is sending more money to under-resourced schools, including some Downstate schools. But Illinois is behind schedule on providing the full funding the legislation calls for.
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Ralph Martire with the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability says the Governor's new proposals for increased spending in education are strong investments. Ralph Martire joined Capitol Connection Host Cole Henke to talk about the state’s fiscal health, and the challenges it still faces.
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Ralph Martire, executive director of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, talks with Peter Hancock and Jerry Nowicki about the budget proposal that Gov. JB Pritzker unveiled during his State of the State address Wednesday, Feb. 15
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Ralph Martire, executive director of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, talks with Peter Hancock and Jerry Nowicki about the budget proposal that Gov. JB Pritzker unveiled during his State of the State address Wednesday, Feb. 15
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CapFax highlights CTBA's response to the Governor's FY 2024 budget proposal.
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Gov. JB Pritzker proposed a $49.6 billion budget Wednesday that beefs up education at all levels and puts more money into the state’s underfunded pension plans. Ralph Martire spoke with Shia Kapos from Politico with a response.
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Illinois' evidence-based K-12 schools funding model aims to send more state resources to areas determined to be "under-resourced." At the Illinois House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday, Ralph Martire of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability said the program deserves more funding due to its success. "What's great about having the evidence-based funding formula is we can evaluate it with data to see if it is working, and it is," Martire said. "In fact, a strong argument could be made that an even greater investment should be going in."
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All four of Chicago's pension systems are significantly underfunded. There’s no meeting of minds around resolving the issue. But Chicagoans deserve to hear more about solutions as the municipal election approaches. Ralph Martire writes about how Chicago’s pension funds are severely underfunded and the impact on the city’s budget in his column in the Chicago Sun-Times.
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Ralph Martire and other policy experts agree that the state's current unemployment rate has been lower only in the two years before the pandemic, and the lowest it's ever been is 3.6% in November and December 2019, according to federal labor figures. Even then, more than half the other states