Voters could flex their muscles after sticker shock from soda tax
Voters could flex their muscles after sticker shock from soda tax
Recent polls show Cook County officials could face electoral backlash for supporting the soda tax.
Illinois tax credits
Illinois tax credits
Local government revenue
Local government revenue
Mattoon forced to cut ambulance services to pay for growing pension crisis
Mattoon forced to cut ambulance services to pay for growing pension crisis
Communities across Illinois are being forced to cut local services and raise taxes to afford their pension payments, putting residents who rely on local government services at risk because of the inherent failures of defined-benefit plans.
Burke to the Future
Burke to the Future
Labor Day weekend travel made pricier by Illinois’ gas taxes
Labor Day weekend travel made pricier by Illinois’ gas taxes
Illinois’ multilayered state and local gas taxes drive up prices at the pump
Chicago moves to ban sale of single servings of alcohol after midnight
Chicago moves to ban sale of single servings of alcohol after midnight
The proposal would prohibit retailers from selling single servings of alcohol after midnight in a questionable move to fight panhandling and public intoxication.
Rauner signs police pension reform ending double dipping, introducing 401(k) plans
Rauner signs police pension reform ending double dipping, introducing 401(k) plans
The new law is a step toward more fairness within Illinois’ police pension system, while offering certain police officers more control over their retirements.
The end of Uber in Chicago? Ordinance would require fingerprinting of rideshare drivers and limit surge pricing
The end of Uber in Chicago? Ordinance would require fingerprinting of rideshare drivers and limit surge pricing
The ordinance was pushed through committee by taxi industry ally Alderman Anthony Beale, 9th Ward.
School buses finally arrive for East Aurora students, but unfairness remains
School buses finally arrive for East Aurora students, but unfairness remains
Thousands of East Aurora students will be able to take buses to school for the first time, but the community still stands as an example of how school district decisions don’t always prioritize students.
Indignation, action needed on Illinois’ jobs crisis
Indignation, action needed on Illinois’ jobs crisis
Until Illinois lawmakers get serious about economic growth, don’t expect the state’s jobs trend to get off the depressing path it’s been treading for years.
Rauner signs school funding plan, tax credit scholarships into law
Rauner signs school funding plan, tax credit scholarships into law
Gov. Bruce Rauner has signed a school funding reform bill containing Illinois’ first-ever tax credit scholarship program.
Chicagoans: Brace for yet another tax hike
Chicagoans: Brace for yet another tax hike
A new property tax hike worth as much as $148 million is set to hit Chicagoans as part of the latest school funding proposal. That’s on top of the record-breaking property tax hikes Mayor Rahm Emanuel approved in 2015 and a litany of other city and county taxes and fees.
Stacked deck: Of all neighboring states, only Illinois gives strike powers to government unions
Stacked deck: Of all neighboring states, only Illinois gives strike powers to government unions
Illinois is the only state in the region that allows government workers to go on strike, effectively depriving residents of services they need and driving up the highest property tax bills in the nation.