The Chicago suburb is facing severe fiscal challenges brought about by its unsustainable pension burden and $75 million in debt – a trend that has become too common among Illinois municipalities.
Since December 2017, the rest of the U.S. has expanded payrolls 80 percent faster than Illinois.
Scraping through a few hundred municipal codes in Illinois didn’t turn up any trick-or-treat ordinances allowing for jail time. But fines associated with age limits, curfews, masks and more were aplenty.
A new university study ranks Illinois last of all 50 states for fiscal health. Pension reform and spending caps are essential for recovery.
Sears, a long-time beneficiary of Illinois tax credit programs, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Christopher Stephens’ family ties landed him a position in local government – and an annual income far eclipsing that of local taxpayers.
While J.B. Pritzker has not released a detailed tax plan of his own, reasonable cost estimates suggest the tax hike required to pay for the candidate’s spending promises would require doubling Illinois’ state income tax rate and cost the state an estimated 132,000 jobs and $31.3 billion in forgone GDP.
Rising pension costs in Illinois’ fifth-largest city are pushing Rockford near the edge of a fiscal cliff – a fate that officials are looking to reverse with a series of steep public service cuts.
The highest-earning government employee in at least five municipalities far outpaces what typical local taxpayers in those areas bring in.
Bloomington City Council approved an ordinance that creates a mandatory business registry with a $50 entrance fee, in addition to hiking 100 permit and licensing fees.
In an effort to close a $7.4 million shortfall, the city of Evanston’s proposed budget for the coming fiscal year includes police and fire cuts along with a string of tax hikes – highlighting the need to trim government waste and push for structural reform in Springfield.
The speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives remains a key campaign issue despite national headlines.