A new tax on sugary drinks designed to generate revenue for cash-strapped Cook County will be the third burdensome tax applied to soda prices in Chicago, making a $4 12-pack of soda in the city cost $5.97.
Nearly 4 out of 5 Illinoisans support term limits for lawmakers.
A four-year freeze riddled with exceptions won’t help Illinois homeowners. Illinoisans need a long-term freeze on local property tax levies and a cap on the tax burden for individual homeowners.
Illinois’ fiscal collapse is the culmination of decades of budget gimmicks and taxes used to paper over the state’s structural spending problems and misplaced priorities that favor special interests over ordinary Illinoisans.
Gov. Bruce Rauner has compromised over and over to strike a deal, to the point of abandoning every reform he once demanded. But no matter how much Rauner gave, House Speaker Mike Madigan never budged.
In two separate deals with JPMorgan, CPS borrowed $387M to make a teacher pension payment at end of June and as a result of the deal, will accumulate at least $7M in interest.
History shows Illinois politicians favor tax hikes over spending reform, and the Tollway and 2011 income tax battle offer examples of the dangers taxpayers face when politicians toy with a temporary tax hike.
Seven days of special session have cost Illinois taxpayers an additional $350,000 for less than 2 hours of work.
Municipal leaders have expressed concerns about the anti-competitive, job-killing effects of Cook County’s minimum wage increases and new sick leave law and are using home rule authority to exempt their communities from the requirements.
Six days of special session have cost Illinois taxpayers an additional $300,000 for less than 100 minutes of work.
Five days of special session have cost Illinois taxpayers an additional $250,000 for less than 90 minutes of work.
Four days of special session have cost Illinois taxpayers an additional $200,000 for less than 80 minutes of work.
Cook County has lost nearly 50,000 black residents since the 2010 census, and the rate is accelerating.