While J.B. Pritzker has not released a detailed tax plan of his own, reasonable cost estimates suggest the tax hike required to pay for the candidate’s spending promises would require doubling Illinois’ state income tax rate and cost the state an estimated 132,000 jobs and $31.3 billion in forgone GDP.
Joliet City Council members awarded their outgoing city manager a generous severance package after less than a year on the job. The ex-official will also be allowed to seek unemployment, even though some council members said he wanted to leave.
Chicago’s inspector general unveiled a litany of misconduct by city employees and contractors.
The Chicago suburb is facing severe fiscal challenges brought about by its unsustainable pension burden and $75 million in debt – a trend that has become too common among Illinois municipalities.
Since December 2017, the rest of the U.S. has expanded payrolls 80 percent faster than Illinois.
Scraping through a few hundred municipal codes in Illinois didn’t turn up any trick-or-treat ordinances allowing for jail time. But fines associated with age limits, curfews, masks and more were aplenty.
A new university study ranks Illinois last of all 50 states for fiscal health. Pension reform and spending caps are essential for recovery.
Sears, a long-time beneficiary of Illinois tax credit programs, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Christopher Stephens’ family ties landed him a position in local government – and an annual income far eclipsing that of local taxpayers.
Rising pension costs in Illinois’ fifth-largest city are pushing Rockford near the edge of a fiscal cliff – a fate that officials are looking to reverse with a series of steep public service cuts.