Taxpayer victory: Rauner signs bill axing ‘golden parachute’ payouts for public officials

By Vincent Caruso

08/16/2018

The Government Severance Pay Act places a cap on – and attaches strings to – golden parachute severance payouts for outgoing government employees.

TAGS: Bill Cunningham, Bruce Rauner, golden parachute, severance, Tom Cullerton

St. Clair County property taxes nearly doubled over last 20 years

By Vincent Caruso

08/08/2018

Property taxpayers in St. Clair County have seen home values swamped by property taxes over the past 20 years.

TAGS: Belleville, municipal pensions, pensions, property taxes, St. Clair County, taxes

Lawsuit seeks to end Burke’s ‘political army’ in Chicago workers’ comp system

By Austin Berg

08/07/2018

Chicago’s longest-serving alderman runs the city’s workers’ comp program without any outside scrutiny. But a new lawsuit aims to change that.

TAGS: Chicago, Chicago City Council, Ed Burke, patronage, workers compensation

53,000 Cook County homeowners to receive $19.5M in property tax refunds

By Chris Lentino

08/03/2018

Millions in property tax refunds will go out to Cook County homeowners as early as Aug. 15.

TAGS: Chicago, Cook County, property taxes, Robert Martwick

Why your property tax bill is so high, and how to fix it

By Austin Berg

08/02/2018

Less than 50 cents of every additional property tax dollar over the last 20 years went to pay for services that raise home values. Instead, the primary driver of the rise in property taxes was pension costs.

TAGS: IMRF: Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund, municipal pensions, pensions, property taxes, real estate

Rauner gives DuPage County green light to pursue consolidation effort

By Eddie Damstra

08/01/2018

A new law will allow DuPage County to dissolve its election commission and transfer its functions to the county clerk’s office, saving taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars.

TAGS: Algonquin Township, Bob Miller, Bruce Rauner, consolidation, DuPage County, local government consolidation

Naperville begins collecting Airbnb tax as similar taxes loom downstate

By Joe Barnas

08/01/2018

As Airbnb begins to remit Naperville’s hotel/motel use tax, some downstate municipalities are considering similar measures.

TAGS: Airbnb, hotel tax, sharing economy, taxes

Ankle breaker: Dwyane Wade’s property taxes total nearly half home’s value over past 10 years

By Chena Underhill

07/31/2018

Dwyane Wade’s Matteson home has been on the market since May. At its current 5 percent effective property tax rate, the buyer would pay for it again in property taxes within 20 years.

TAGS: municipal pensions, pensions, property taxes, taxes

Will County shoppers would pay among nation’s highest sales taxes under referendum proposal

By Vincent Caruso

07/30/2018

A new sales tax proposed by Will County school districts would put some residents’ sales tax burden in a league with Chicago, which is home to the highest combined sales tax rate of any major city in the U.S.

TAGS: sales tax, taxes, Will County

3 ways Illinois can improve its property tax assessment system

By Vincent Caruso

07/30/2018

The method by which local governments calculate Illinoisans’ property tax bills is broken. Here’s how Springfield can fix it.

TAGS: property taxes, taxes