On June 28 the Illinois House of Representatives failed to pass Senate Bill 484, an illusory property tax freeze that did not offer real reform, left Chicago homeowners out in the cold, and would have left in place an opaque and expensive property tax system that benefits special interests over taxpayers.
Like the “grand bargain,” the Brady plan and the Illinois Senate Democrats’ budget before it, the Illinois House Democrats’ plan relies on more than $5 billion in new tax revenues because it includes no significant structural spending reforms.
Affluent communities would receive millions in grants under a Republican spending plan.
Eight days of special session have cost Illinois taxpayers an additional $400,000 for just over two hours of work.
Senate Bill 484 would offer a freeze in name only, as it fails to address the very costs that drive up Illinois homeowners’ property tax bills.
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.