Property taxes in Illinois are nearly double the national average. Until state lawmakers trim down thousands of local governments and pursue pension reform, those bills wills remain high.
There’s no doubt: the county taxed soda more, so people bought less of it. It’s a simple lesson. So why doesn’t Springfield get it?
Illinois has not truly balanced its budget since 2001 despite a constitutional requirement to do so. A new bill would help change that.
A bill to make more public records readily available would better show taxpayers how local governments spend money.
Consolidating Illinois’ nearly 7,000 units of local government could help provide local property tax relief. One bill aims to consolidate mosquito abatement districts.
The years 2010 through 2019 will go down in Illinois history as a decade of public policy failure and economic decline. High fixed costs for pensions and government worker health care have prevented the state from balancing its budget in any year since 2001. Since the Great Recession in 2008, the state’s fiscal imbalance has...
Other states show how a progressive income tax would likely make the Illinois exodus worse, pushing jobs and tax revenue out of Illinois.
A progressive income tax would force nearly all joint filers in Illinois to pay higher income taxes than they would as single filers. Meanwhile, some wealthy couples would save thousands in state income taxes.
Fewer people want to live in states with progressive income taxes. So after 6 straight years of population loss, why would Illinois want to join them?
Illinois lawmakers are currently paid for the entire month, even if they resign before the end of it. A new bill could change that.
The state sold the helicopter in 2015 to ease budgetary pressures.
The Illinois Tollway is spending $33 million on toll machines, some of which can’t make change. The state agency’s legacy is broken promises, political patronage and overcharging Illinoisans.
Amid Illinois’ population decline, Ald. Ray Lopez proposed taxing conception and licensing childbirth.
Springfield lawmakers have yet to learn the lesson that money walks. And it’s not just to other states. Sometimes, it walks past the legal dispensary with a 40% tax rate and into a dealer’s house.