Illinois' unfunded statewide public pension liabilities grew another $1.5 billion in the past year. Better investment returns couldn’t keep up with public worker pensions growing faster than projected.
AAA estimates nearly 120 million people will travel 50 miles or more this holiday season. Most of those will travel by car, so Illinois’ gas taxes will make it an expensive ride for them.
“My husband and I own a couple hundred acres. When I heard about the tax on wooded acreage going up, I emailed the assessor. My previous tax bill was $756. I found out that was going to go up over $10,000.” “What I’ve learned from [state Rep. Wayne] Rosenthal is that when this law passed...
Voters in Homer Township will have the chance to weigh in on public pension reform, federal and state redistricting and unfunded state mandates. Illinois state lawmakers have yet to act on the trio of issues.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson failed to rally the votes for a record $17.3 billion budget imposing $68.5 million in property tax hikes. City leaders have another chance to fix the budget. Here’s how they can do it.
The Chicago Metropolitan Housing Development Corp. started in 1982 as a government agency. Rafael Leon stepped in and restructured it as a non-profit in the mid-1990s. It is now independent of the government and provides low-income housing in parts of Chicago that other non-profit housing entities often overlook. “We’re not associated with the Chicago Housing...
The current owners of Kevin McCallister’s house from the “Home Alone” movie will pay nearly $50,000 in property taxes this year. Illinoisans pay more than twice as much as the typical American in property taxes.
A report outlining public education reform in Illinois doesn’t address a core issue facing students: reading proficiency. It also lowers standards for students and threatens to muddle the understanding of students’ progress.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s first effort at building “affordable” housing is costing nearly $700,000 per unit. Similar units in the same area cost $126,583.
“Sept. 19, I had to work late. And along the way back to my parking garage at Wells and Madison, I stopped at a 7-Eleven.” “There’s a guy on the ground there, panhandling. He asked me to get something for him and I said, ‘Sorry, I don’t have anything for you.’” “As I came back...
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s proposed budget includes $233.9 million in tax hikes including rideshare prices and streaming services. It has already passed a key committee in the city council.
Jackpot justice in Illinois recently drew the ire of two national groups. Cook County was labeled a leading “judicial hellhole.” Lawsuit abuse imposes a $4,281 cost on each Illinois household. State lawmakers, trial lawyers and plaintiff-friendly courts are to blame.
Chicago’s 2025 budget is facing a nearly $1 billion gap. Mayor Brandon Johnson’s plan to close it: increase taxes. The city’s rising non-personnel costs, now at $6.6 billion, will outpace its grant funding, squeeze taxpayers and increase regressive fees.
Chicago speed cameras sent drivers $28 million less in tickets through September than during the first nine months of 2023. Annual revenues could spike again under proposals to drop the citywide speed limit or boost the number of cameras.