Illinois Policy Institute

The Illinois Policy Institute (IPI) is a conservative think tank with offices in Chicago and Springfield, Illinois, and member of the State Policy Network. The IPI describes itself as a "leading independent research and education organization." They claim that "the ultimate sign of success is when free market ideas are turned into law and change lives for the better."

Ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council
IPI is a member of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) as of 2011. Brian Costin, IPI Director of Outreach, and Ted Dabrowski, Vice President of Policy, represent IPI on ALEC's Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force. At the 2011 Annual Meeting, Costin introduced the "Local Government Transparency Act" model legislation, and Dabrowski introduced the "Pension Funding and Fairness Act" model legislation for adoption by the task force. The latter was adopted and proceeded to the ALEC Board of Directors for approval. Executive Vice President Kristina Rasmussen represented IPI on the Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force as of April 2010, when she penned an article entitled "Pension Funding Reform: A Solution for Budget Deficits" for ALEC's newsletter, Inside ALEC.

IPI is also a member of ALEC's Health and Human Services Task Force and Education Task Force. Senior Budget and Tax Policy Analyst, Amanda Griffin-Johnson, presented model legislation (the “State Employee Health Savings Account Act”) to the HHS task force at ALEC's 2011 annual meeting. Collin Hitt, Director of Education Policy, is a private sector member of the Education Task Force representing IPI. He sponsored the “Local Government Transparency Act” at the ALEC 2011 States and Nation Policy Summit.

Please see SPN Ties to ALEC for more.

Funding
In its 2006 annual report the Cato Institute states that it made a grant of $50,000 to the Illinois Policy Institute.

IPI does not list its funders publicly. Its website states: "Because the Institute is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization, our supporters’ names are kept private, although donors are free to share their reasons for supporting our efforts."

Core Financials
 2010  :  2009  :
 * Total Revenue: $1,791,057
 * Total Expenses: $1,732,183
 * Net Assets: $176,631
 * Total Revenue: $1,469,110
 * Total Expenses: $1,327,172
 * Net Assets: $117,757

Board of Directors

 * William (Bill) G. Becker, III (co-founder of Maine Heritage Policy Center)
 * Steve Brown
 * Terry T. Campo, Vice-Chairman
 * Elizabeth Christie
 * John Tillman, CEO
 * Richard T. Weiss

Staff

 * John Tillman, CEO
 * Kristina Rasmussen, Executive Vice President
 * Ted Dabrowski, Vice President of Policy
 * Daniel Anthony, Vice President of Marketing and Communications
 * Matt Paprocki, Senior Director of Government Affairs
 * Rebecca Kohn, Senior Manager of External Relations
 * Brian Costin, Director of Government Reform
 * Paul Kersey, Director of Labor Policy
 * Jonathan Ingram, Director of Health Policy and Pension Reform
 * Benjamin VanMetre, Senior Budget and Tax Policy Analyst
 * Josh Dwyer, Director of Education Reform
 * Diana Rickert, Director of Media Relations
 * Jean Hutton, Operations Manager
 * Roxane Tyssen, External Relations Associate
 * Jen Dillman, Regional Director of External Relations, Central and Southern Illinois
 * Scott Reeder, Journalist in Residence
 * MaryAnn McCabe, External Relations Associate
 * Chris Andriesen, Outreach Coordinator
 * Jane McEnaney, Policy Outreach Manager
 * Hilary Gowins, Editor

Senior Fellows

 * Heather Wilhelm, Senior Fellow, Communications
 * J. Scott Moody, Senior Fellow for Budget and Tax Policy
 * Jerry Agar, Multimedia Fellow
 * Don Soifer, Senior Fellow, Education
 * Andrew Busch, Senior Fellow, Finance and Markets
 * Leonard Gilroy, Senior Fellow, Regulation and Privatization
 * Donna Arduin, Senior Fellow, Budget and Tax Policy
 * John Hill, Senior Fellow, Energy Policy
 * Jim Porterfield, Senior Fellow, Health Care Policy
 * Marc Levine, Senior Fellow, Pension and Investment Policy
 * John Stephen, JD, Senior Fellow, Health Care Policy

Academic Advisors

 * Jonathan Bean, Southern Illinois University
 * Rik Hafer, Southern Illinois University - Edwardsville
 * William J. Kresse, Saint Xavier University
 * Patrick Mullen, University of Illinois - Springfield
 * Robert Podlasek, Bradley University

Contact Details
Website: http://www.illinoispolicyinstitute.org/

Chicago Office Illinois Policy Institute 190 S. LaSalle Street, Suite 1630 Chicago, IL 60603 Phone: 312-346-5700 Fax: 312-346-5755

John Tillman, CEO jtillman@illinoispolicy.org

Springfield Office Illinois Policy Institute 802 South 2nd Street Springfield, IL 62704 Phone: 217-528-8800 Fax: 217-528-8808

Kristina Rasmussen, Executive Vice President krasmussen@illinoispolicy.org