Local state Reps. Katie Stuart, D-Edwardsville, and Daniel Beiser, D-Alton, are still getting paid even though the state still does not have a balanced budget.
Illinois politicians are once again eyeing a “temporary” tax increase, and residents should be wary. 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.
The latest report from the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability shows Illinois experienced falling tax collections, indicating trouble in the state economy. Spending reforms – not tax hikes – are what Illinois needs to right its fiscal ship and boost economic growth.
Though the median household income in Belleville is only $43,318, Belleville Township School District 201’s top administrators are making six-figure salaries.
Instead of spending time on economic reforms, politicians crafted a bill that would apply new rules and regulations on trampoline safety that would add thousands of dollars in costs for equipment, travel and overtime for inspections.
House Speaker Mike Madigan and House Minority Leader Jim Durkin used shell bills to avoid the March 31 deadline for bills to pass out of committee. Madigan passed 936 shell bills. Durkin passed 528. Meanwhile, thousands of substantive bills died without so much as a committee hearing.
“My job with Chrysler is the longest job I’ve ever had. I’ll have 30 years under my belt in May, all in automotive manufacturing and assembly. “People on the line, a lot of them say ‘you work for what you want, it’s not handed to you.’ That’s one of the things I like about my...
Rank-and-file lawmakers have received paychecks of more than $50,800.
In February 2012, Caterpillar’s then-CEO Doug Oberhelman outlined needed reforms to save Illinois manufacturing jobs. State lawmakers have failed to act, and the Land of Lincoln is the only state in the region to lose manufacturing jobs since.
Illinois has all of the necessary elements for success.
SB 9 is part of the package of bills that make up the Senate “grand bargain,” which would have hiked taxes by $7 billion.
Though Illinois lawmakers leave without addressing the current fiscal impasse, it’s been 16 years since the General Assembly last balanced the budget.
Despite being sold as property tax “relief,” new legislation in Springfield would only shift property tax burdens on to certain taxpayers, while complicating an already confusing property tax system.