University of Illinois Chicago
David F. Merriman is the leader of IGPA's Fiscal Health of Illinois Working Group and is the James J. Stukel Presidential Professor of Public Administration at the University of Illinois at Chicago. His major area of study is state and local public finance. Professor Merriman directs The Fiscal Futures Project, which created and maintains of a comprehensive and consistently defined measure of the Illinois state budget. He has published extensively about the effect of tax increment finance policy on local economic growth and the determinants of tobacco tax avoidance. He has also studied Walmart’s impact on urban economic development. His most recent research concerns state and local business taxation.
IGPA Research By
April 19, 2022 The Earth isn’t Flat, and Neither is Illinois’— or any other state’s — Income Tax
July 27, 2021Illinois’ Medicaid Program is Expensive, but Spending Will Be Tough to Cut
July 27, 2021Illinois’ Medicaid Program is Expensive, but Spending Will Be Tough to Cut
April 22, 2021Illinois' Fiscal Challenges
November 5, 2020How often do graduated and flat rate states change their tax rates?
October 29, 2020The COVID-19 pandemic and small business in Illinois: A preliminary comparison of neighboring states
May 27, 2020Economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic: State perspectives
April 30, 2020Illinois Higher Education Enrollments During Recessions
April 9, 2020What Policymakers Should Know About the Fiscal Impact of COVID-19 on Illinois
May 7, 2019Revenue Implications of Alternative Personal Income Tax Structures in Illinois
February 21, 2019A pension "crisis" mentality won't help
January 31, 2019Improving tax increment financing (TIF) for economic development
April 2, 2018The use of business property tax incentives in Cook County, Illinois
March 1, 2018No Magic Bullet: Constructing a Roadmap for Illinois Fiscal Sustainability
February 2, 2017Tools to assess budgetary concerns (Kiwanis presentation)
November 30, 2016First you stop digging: Projections of Illinois' fiscal imbalance and paths to remedy it
November 30, 2016Budget Enforcement Mechanisms
February 15, 2016Consequences of Inaction
December 7, 2015Improving budgetary practices in Illinois
February 20, 2014Peering over Illinois' fiscal cliff
February 20, 2014The Illinois Report 2014
February 18, 2014Overview of the economic and fiscal situation in Illinois
February 18, 2014Business taxes
February 3, 2014What happened to Illinois' economy following the January 2011 tax increases?
January 30, 2014Illinois still has serious fiscal problems after December 2013 pension law changes
October 19, 2013Temporary taxes
March 14, 2013Testimony Before the Illinois Senate Appropriations II Committee
March 13, 2013Testimony Before the Illinois House State Government Administration Committee Hearing on HB2955
March 12, 2013Six simple steps
February 20, 2013The Illinois Report 2013
February 20, 2013And miles to go before it's balanced
January 17, 2013How will limiting cost of living adjustments affect the value of state pensions?
June 12, 2012The Illinois state budget: How bad is the picture, and what can you do about it?
February 3, 2012The Illinois Report 2012
February 3, 2012Through a dark glass
September 29, 2011Transparency in state budgets
July 26, 2011Why ignore over half of the illinois state budget picture?
April 8, 2011Public pensions in Illinois
January 20, 2011Titanic and sinking: The Illinois budget disaster
January 20, 2011Illinois' economy: Past trends, current challenges, future prospects
January 18, 2011Fiscal Fallout No. 5
January 10, 2011Fiscal Fallout No. 4
October 11, 2010Fiscal Fallout No. 3
September 7, 2010Fiscal Fallout No. 2
August 23, 2010Fiscal Fallout No. 1
January 10, 2008The Illinois Report 2008
January 10, 2008Illinois' fiscal future
March 1, 2006Alternatives to Cook County's 7 percent cap on assessment increases
Amanda Kass is the associate director of the Government Finance Research Center in the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois Chicago and is a member of the IGPA Fiscal Health of Illinois Working Group. As associate director she designs, conducts, and manages research in the GFRC's priority areas. Amanda also works with the faculty and external advisory panels to advance the GFRC’s goals and disseminate its research. Amanda has previously worked at the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability and the University of Chicago’s Center for Municipal Finance.
Amanda’s research focuses on state and local finance, with sub-specialties in pensions, housing, and fiscal analysis. Her work has been published in Chicago Magazine and Urban Affairs Review. She has appeared in various media outlets, including Bloomberg, the Bond Buyer, Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Tribune, Crain’s Chicago Business, Reuters, Tax Analysts, and WTTW’s Chicago Tonight.
IGPA Research By
April 9, 2020What Policymakers Should Know About the Fiscal Impact of COVID-19 on Illinois
February 21, 2019A pension "crisis" mentality won't help
Benjamin M. Superfine is a member of the working group on Education and Learning, and is a professor in the College of Education at UIC, where his research interests center on education law and policy.
Superfine received his J.D. and Ph.D. in Education Foundations and Policy from the University of Michigan. Before joining UIC, Superfine practiced law at Dow Lohnes PLLC in Washington, D.C. Superfine's research focuses on the history of education law and policy, school finance reform, standards-based reform and accountability, teacher evaluation, and collective bargaining. His research is interdisciplinary and addresses educational issues through the lenses of law, history, and social science. He is the founder and Director of the Research on Urban Education Policy Initiative at UIC.