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
President Joe Biden is getting impatient with schools that are supposedly not moving fast enough to spend stimulus money they got from COVID-19 relief bills, but some analysts say there are good reasons why most of that money has not yet been spent. Ralph Martire told Bloomberg in November, that “Most of it is being used for the right things and in the right areas, the problem is understanding the impact of taking away a service once you’ve provided it,” Martire added that school districts should be very persnickety about utilizing funds to cover recurring costs.
Fox 17 News, Nashville also ran the story: https://fox17.com/news/nation-world/heres-why-analysts-say-schools-arent-spending-more-of-their-200-billion-covid-stimulus
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President Joe Biden is getting impatient with schools that are supposedly not moving fast enough to spend stimulus money they got from COVID-19 relief bills, but some analysts say there are good reasons why most of that money has not yet been spent. Ralph Martire told Bloomberg in November, that “Most of it is being used for the right things and in the right areas, the problem is understanding the impact of taking away a service once you’ve provided it,” Martire added that school districts should be very persnickety about utilizing funds to cover recurring costs.
Fox 17 News, Nashville also ran the story: https://fox17.com/news/nation-world/heres-why-analysts-say-schools-arent-spending-more-of-their-200-billion-covid-stimulus
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It’s budget season in Chicago — CTBA Executive Director Ralph Martire spoke with WBEZ reporter Mariah Woelfel about how residents can become involved in the budget process.
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And Justice For All is the the official podcast of Roosevelt University.
This podcast explores the close relationship between education and justice. You can’t have one without the other. We see the transformative power of education every day in the lives of our students, and we’re driven to make education accessible for all, despite the economic, historical and social barriers that we face. Inclusion is at the core of Roosevelt's legacy, and higher education is the gateway to the American Dream.
Education for all. And Justice For All.
That's who we are. That's who we've always been.
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The National Council of Jewish Women, Chicago North Shore hosted Ralph Martire for a virtual discussion on Illinois’ Tax Infrastructure: How Income, Sales, and Property Taxes Interact. Some pieces of the puzzle that Ralph addressed included: How do income taxes interact with sales and property taxes? Will Illinois ever have a tax structure that takes them all into account? How will there be enough money to fund human services in Illinois? You can watch the presentation via YouTube at the following link: https://youtu.be/xIuiU0VUybk.
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Gov. JB Pritzker was able to come up with a balanced state budget plan for the next fiscal year despite voters turning down a proposed move from a flat to a graduated income tax in November. According to Allison Flanagan, CTBA’s director of public policy and co-author of the new analysis says “the problem is still there.” Illinois needs structural tax reform and refinancing of its pension debt to stabilize finances and avoid more cuts to education and other state services.
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In order to balance next year's state budget, Gov. J.B. Pritzker is asking legislators to eliminate what his administration calls nine "corporate tax loopholes" to generate nearly $1 billion per year in revenue. Ralph Martire, executive director of the bipartisan Center for Tax and Budget
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The Sounthernminn.com breaks down the key takeaways from CTBA’s analysis of Governor Pritzker’s FY 2022 state budget proposal.
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The Illinois Allow for Graduated Income Tax Amendment—known to its supporters as the “Fair Tax Amendment”—would have restructured the state’s personal income tax from a flat rate to a graduated system that would have taxed people with greater personal income at a higher rate. If it had passed,
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Much to the dismay of Chicago progressives, the state ballot initiative to create a graduated income tax, or “fair tax,” failed on Election Day. “What’s next?” Where’s the money going to come from? Most likely, an across-the-board hike on income taxes. According to Drazzel Feliu, research