Betsy Cushman
League of Women Voters of Dearborn -- Dearborn Heights
"Citizens Research Council of Michigan is one of the best sources of information for legislators and constituents alike on key topics pertaining to our state government. In particular, the January 2010 CRC whitepaper entitled 'Public Education Governance in Michigan' is a shining example of their excellent work and a must read for anyone interested in our state’s education system."
Patrick Colbeck
Michigan Senator, 7th District
"The most trusted name in non-partisan legislative research in Michigan."
Debbie Gallagher
Ann Arbor District Library
"Nonprofit, nonpartisan CRC has this infuriating habit of actually looking at the numbers."
Derek Melot
Lansing State Journal
"The Citizens Research Council has been providing accuracy and objectivity to public policy debates for more than 80 years and is known for being the 'Sgt. Friday' of public policy debates, laying out 'just the facts.'"
Tom Watkins
in the Michigan Chronicle
"Fortunately, we have here in Michigan an admirable entity known as the Citizens Research Council. CRC often comes to the rescue in such public policy disputes and has demonstrated an acute ability to separate fact from fiction."
Glenn Gilbert
Oakland Press
"One of the very best non-profit public affairs research organizations."
Muskegon Chronicle, 6/8/08
"I have had a long relationship using the publications of the Citizens Research Council...you do a lot of good work here and we appreciate the support that keeps this operation so vital and relevant to the debates in Lansing, to Michigan's economic future, and to Michigan's future, period."
Honorable John Engler
Former Governor
State of Michigan
"It is during challenging times that the work of the Citizens Research Council is most appreciated - accurate, impartial research on critical issues facing state and local government can help to meet these challenges. CRC has a proven track record in making important contributions at critical times in Michigan's history."
Jay Rising, former State Treasurer
State of Michigan
"The Citizens Research Council strives, without regard to political party or agenda, to frame educational issues in a balanced and thought-provoking context. Its consistent record of objectivity and thoroughness has made the CRC a high quality and immensely credible resource for policymakers at the state and local leadership levels. You can always count on CRC's findings to be solid and trustworthy."
Mike Flanagan
Michigan Superintendent of Public Instruction
"With a number of very successful partnerships between our organizations, the Michigan Manufacturers Association clearly recognizes the Citizens Research Council as an enormously valuable asset for Michigan's business and political leaders. Their balance and objective research provides both credibility and insight for decision-makers."
John W. "Mac" MacIlroy, former President
Michigan Manufacturers Association
"...it's very small...but [CRC] is very highly respected in Michigan and nationally. And over the years, CRC has influenced the evolution of public policy in Michigan far out of proportion to its size."
Phil Power, Chairman
Eccentric Newspapers
"For many years, the Citizens Research Council has been a valuable resource for independent, factual public policy analysis to residents of Michigan. Over the years, I have referred many public officials and business leaders to the work of the Citizens Research Council."
Kevin A. Kelly, Executive Director
Michigan State Medical Society
"The research conducted by the Citizens Research Council has long elevated the quality of discourse on a vast array of overarching policy and funding issues impacting Michigan's entire education system."
Michael Boulus, Executive Director
Presidents Council, State Universities of Michigan
"Citizens Research Council's analysis of the state budget made local governments aware of serious structural problems long before they were public. This advance warning helped local governments anticipate the effects of State budget cuts and plan accordingly."
Paul Tait, Executive Director
SEMCOG
"I have always read and valued the papers of the Citizens Research Council. Their nonpartisan, objective approach to public policy analysis has made better information available to government decision-makers. Better information leads to better decision-making and ultimately to better government."
Doug Roberts, former State Treasurer
Director, IPPSR-MSU
"The Citizens Research Council of Michigan -- the folks that bring you all those great non-partisan reports and data on Michigan government, laws, etc. are finally up and running on the web and it was worth the wait. This is a great site. Low-key graphics, great indexing, plenty of content including all their reports, research and memos...This is an invaluable tool..."
Debbie Gallagher, Government Information Specialist
Michigan Electronic Library
University of Michigan
"Your knowledge and ability to distill the key issues in an easily understood manner is indeed impressive. As a long-time member of the Michigan School Business Officials, and current president, I look forward to your presentations and updates. They are thoughtful, balanced, and accurate. To say that you are a credible source on state finances is an understatement."
Timothy Raymer, Assistant Superintendent
Grandville Public Schools
"The Citizens Research Council of Michigan has been providing unbiased analysis of public issues since 1916. It is one of this state's indispensable institutions... The CRC's supporters recognize the need for impartial and nonpartisan analysis of local and state policy and fiscal issues... The value of the CRC over the years has been that it is private and independent of political party or ideology."
The Detroit News
Quotes from Newspapers
A study by the Citizens Research Council of Michigan, a well-respected policy research group, finds that direct cooperative agreements on special fire districts were the most common form of resource-sharing among communities.
The Detroit News (October 8, 2005)
Shared services across political boundaries can be a pretty good deal for local taxpayers"That conclusion can be drawn from an unprecedented "who's doing what for whom" survey of governments across the state conducted by the apolitical Citizens Research Council of Michigan.
Detroit Free Press (September 25, 2005)
The respected Citizens Research Council of Michigan, a nonpartisan, nonprofit public interest research group, looked at the effect of pension costs on school budgets"These figures, the Council estimates, "leave little room for growth elsewhere in school budgets."
The Detroit News (August 9, 2005)
The top-notch Citizens Research Council of Michigan report on this issue [meeting the need for K-12 capital construction] offers several options for solving the problem.
Oakland Press (June 21, 2005)
He [Jim Wencel, Superintendent of Bad Axe Public Schools] told the board about a presentation he's recently seen by the Citizens Research Council of Michigan, a private not-for-profit, nonpartisan group that promotes sound policy for state and local governments through factual research.
Huron Daily Tribune (March 16, 2005)
This data comes from the highly respected Citizens Research Council (CRC) of Michigan, whose top state budget expert Tom Clay points out that manufacturing continues a long-term national decline.
Larry Merrill, Michigan Township News (January/February 2005)
On and on it goes. Fingers are being pointed left, right and center, in an endless circle. Diogenes would have despaired"unless he was fortunate enough to come across Tom Clay, director of state affairs for the Citizens Research Council of Michigan. The Council is a nonprofit research outfit that is widely recognized as both nonpartisan and enormously expert. Clay is a quiet, unassuming type who worked on state budgets under both Republican and Democratic governors for decades and probably knows as much as anybody about how our state's finances work.
Phil Power, Ferndale Mirror (January 13-19, 2005)
Though the CRC does not make policy recommendations, the organization has pinpointed some long-term solutions to the budget crunch.
Livingston County Press (December 12, 2004)
Next to the ballot proposals are links to extensive explanations and analysis of each issue. These are provided by the Citizens Research Council of Michigan, a private, not-for-profit public affairs research organization established in 1916 to provide nonpartisan analysis of state and local government organization and finance in Michigan.
Oceana Herald (October 28, 2004)
The Citizens Research Council, a very well respected bipartisan group, has prepared an excellent study of Proposal 1.
Berrien County Record, Buchanan (October 21, 2004)
The prestigious Citizens Research Council of Michigan, a reputable organization with no ax to grind, has concluded that Proposal 1 could bar even electronic versions of existing lottery offerings.
Oakland Press (October 17, 2004)
[Escanaba Schools Superintendent Tom] Smith respects the findings of the Citizens Research Council of Michigan. "It's a pretty good group, well-respected, nonpartisan," he said. "Its opinions have been valued by both Democrats and Republicans as they formulate state policy"and by teachers and administrators alike."
Daily Press, Escanaba (October 13, 2004)
The independent Citizens Research Council of Michigan estimates that Michigan hospitals lost $156 million providing services to the fee-for-service Medicaid enrollees and lost $456 million in 2000 for uninsured and uncompensated care provided to individuals who had little to no ability to pay for hospital services.
Homer Index (January 22, 2003)
A report released Thursday by the Citizens Research Council, a nonpartisan public policy group, recommends moving MEAP, career education, adult education and an information-gathering office to the Department of Education.
Muskegon Chronicle (January 17, 2003)
"The need still exists for the state to adopt a strategic approach to bringing base revenues and spending back into balance," the nonpartisan Citizens Research Council of Michigan said in a 2002 report.
Battle Creek Enquirer (January 13, 2003)
One is www.crcmich.org, a nonpartisan, public policy research organization. The site provides comprehensive information on everything from analyses of state of Michigan spending (where your tax dollars are going) to comparisons over several years of how our state stacks up against other states on personal income tax, sales tax and more. There are also publications available on the site on a variety of issues, such as various referenda on the Nov. 5 election ballot.
Detroit Free Press (October 13, 2002)
Also of note is the non-aligned Citizens Research Council of Michigan, a group with no particular axes to grind that we can see. Their bare-bones, passionless and objective studies of Michigan's ballot proposals might prove very helpful to interested voters wanting to make the most informed possible choices. We found the CRC's analysis of the upcoming state constitutional issues"exceedingly useful.
Muskegon Chronicle (October 11, 2002)
And the record of achievement is impressive"In fact, there are few big topics in Michigan public policy that have not been addressed in the Council's publications"[CRC] is one of those quiet organizations that are uniquely valuable and filled with integrity that make life so much better for all of us.
Phil Power, Eccentric Newspapers (August 8, 2002)
The privately funded research council is an 85-year-old, independent public policy research organization that offers nonpartisan information on state issues.
Kalamazoo Gazette (December 4, 2001)
Since 1916, the CRC has been an advocate of state and local "good government." The Research Council's studies of policy and administrative practice in Michigan win national prizes for excellence, and universal respect from the best of our state and local leaders.
Michael Meagher, Fowlerville News/Review (October 8, 2001)
The widely respected and studiously apolitical CRC, frequently called upon for objective research on public policy issues, recently compiled a report on the powers of the mayor of Detroit, as provided in the city charter that voters revised in 1996.
Ron Dzwonkowski, Detroit Free Press (July 29, 2001)
A recent report by the nonpartisan Citizens Research Council of Michigan, one of the nation's premier government watchdog groups, spells out the bad news. After eight years of steady growth, "significant holes" have appeared in state revenues.
Tom Bray, The Detroit News (June 27, 2001)
"A new report from CRC, Citizens Research Council of Michigan, provides analysis of county, city and township-level tax valuations and assessments since Proposal A. It may sound dry but the impact on your district library revenues and other taxing entities is anything but dull"CRC reports are thorough, objective and well-respected so you're sharing the best data.
Michigan Electronic Library (March 2, 2001)
"Nonpartisan, accurate, unbiased and credible research on key issues, from school vouchers to Internet sales tax to better ways to finance highway construction to ideas for eliminating the blight of abandoned, tax-reverted properties in Michigan's older cities. Much of the research, and a lot of good government links, are found on the council's website at www.crcmich.org.
Mary Kramer, Crain's Detroit Business (September 10, 2000)
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