Gov. J.B. Pritzker, House Speaker Mike Madigan and other Illinois leaders were banking on a federal bailout long before COVID-19. How else can one explain their recklessness?
During the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Illinois Farm Bureau twice made it a priority to tell members to oppose Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s progressive income tax hike. Their opposition is about values and principles.
The budget was not balanced, and Illinois has not balanced a budget for nearly two decades. Pretending Illinois had no issues before COVID-19 won’t help it recover.
Property tax delays give breathing room to homeowners, many of whom have gone more than a month without a paycheck because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
City leaders must prioritize critical spending – and avoid hiking taxes on a struggling economy.
Illinois’ taxes and fees on gasoline keep the pump price high, even when oil producers are paying for someone to take excess crude. The state gas tax is set to rise again in July.
Two decades of fiscal mismanagement have left state finances ill-prepared for the COVID-19 pandemic. Congress should condition any additional aid for troubled states on taxpayer protections that ensure pensions are solvent, accounting is realistic and budgets are balanced.
As Illinois teeters on the edge of a junk credit rating, one key policymaker is floating bankruptcy as a solution.
Despite a massive national economic contraction, Pritzker is resisting calls to pull a large tax hike from the November ballot.
The Federal Reserve announced unprecedented plans to directly purchase up to $500 billion in state and local government bonds. States with poorly managed finances, such as Illinois, stand to benefit most, but long-term threats loom without structural reforms.
By granting broad new taxing authority to Springfield, the progressive income tax amendment makes a retirement income tax much more likely – a fact some supporters have acknowledged publicly.
The severe economic downturn brought on by the coronavirus outbreak and measures taken to contain it could cause state personal income tax revenues to fall by 14.7% to 33.8% this year.
Illinois residents pay more of their income toward state and local taxes than any other state’s residents. A progressive income tax proposal on the ballot in November would raise the state’s total tax burden by $3.7 billion.
"They need to focus inward as a state and not look for more taxes to solve their apparent spending problem. Balance the budget, reform pensions."