Budget + Tax

New car trade-in tax will hit Illinois drivers New Year’s Day

By Austin Berg
12/12/2019
Illinois will impose a new sales tax on vehicle trade-ins beginning New Year’s Day. That’s why car dealerships have been running radio ads for weeks telling Illinoisans to come on down before the ball drops.

TAGS: Chicago, Cook County, gas tax, Illinois, Illinois General Assembly, JB Pritzker, progressive tax, registration fee, soda tax, Springfield, Toni Preckwinkle, trade-in tax, vehicle registration

Will County board to vote on 4-cent countywide gas tax following doubled Illinois tax

By Vincent Caruso
12/10/2019
Included in Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s capital plan is increased taxing power for some county governments to create or raise countywide gas taxes. Will County could be the first to exercise that authority.

TAGS: capital plan, Democratic Party, excise tax, gas tax, Illinois, Illinois General Assembly, infrastructure, JB Pritzker, republican, sales tax, Springfield, tax increase, transportation

Progressive income tax study guide

By Orphe Divounguy, Adam Schuster, Bryce Hill
12/10/2019
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker calls it the “fair tax.” Opponents say it’s a “blank check” for irresponsible spending. Here’s what you need to know.

TAGS: ballot referendums, California, Connecticut, corporate income tax, fair tax, general election, graduated income tax, Illinois, Illinois General Assembly, income tax, JB Pritzker, middle class, outmigration, pension reform, population loss, progressive tax, Springfield

New taxes and fees on Illinois driving, vehicles total $1.9B

By Ben Szalinski
12/05/2019
Jan. 1 marks a second wave of taxes aimed at drivers to support an infrastructure package championed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker and shrouded in corruption allegations.

TAGS: capital plan, drivers, driving, gas tax, Illinois, Illinois General Assembly, infrastructure, JB Pritzker, Luis Arroyo, Martin Sandoval, motor fuel tax, parking garages, parking tax, progressive income tax, public works, Rebuild Illinois, Springfield, trade-in tax, vehicle registration

Repeal Day: Prohibition ended 86 years ago, but Illinois’ alcohol taxes, regulations remain sobering

By Vincent Caruso
12/05/2019
With the ratification of the 21st Amendment, 1933 marked the end of Prohibition in the United States. Illinois, however, has continued to serve a cocktail of prohibitive regulations on alcoholic beverages.

TAGS: alcohol tax, Associated Beer Distributors of Illinois, bootlegging, brewery, Bruce Rauner, capital plan, Chicago, cocktail, craft beer, distillery, Hospitality Business Association of Chicago, Illinois, Illinois General Assembly, JB Pritzker, licensure, Liquor Control Act, liquor laws, midwest, over-regulation, prohibition, regulation, repeal, Sara Feigenholtz, soda tax, taproom, taxes, Toni Preckwinkle, trade, vape ban, vaping, Wine & Spirits Distributors of Illinois, winery

Senate President John Cullerton set to collect $2M pension

By Austin Berg
11/27/2019
Due to a pension sweetener available only to veteran Illinois lawmakers, Cullerton’s annual pension will soon be more than he ever made from his Statehouse salary.

TAGS: Chicago, Emil Jones, Illinois, Illinois General Assembly, Illinois Senate, John Cullerton, Mike Madigan, pension benefits, pension costs, pension crisis, pension debt, pension reform, retirement, senate president, SERS: State Employee Retirement System, six-figure, Springfield, tax hikes, teacher salaries, TRS: Teachers’ Retirement System

Chicago’s 2020 budget proposal was never truly balanced

By Adam Schuster, Bill Reveille
11/26/2019
Faced with the impossible task of balancing Chicago’s budget without pension reform, Mayor Lori Lightfoot is forced to partially rely on phantom cuts and revenues.

TAGS: 2020 Budget Forecast, bonds, budget, budget gap, CAFR: Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, Chicago, Chicago City Council, chicago city hall, constitutional amendment, CTA: Chicago Transit Authority, CTU: Chicago Teachers Union, deficit, emergency fee, fire pensions, homelessness, housing market, Illinois General Assembly, interest rates, library, Lori Lightfoot, lyft, pension contributions, pension crisis, pension debt, pension obligations, policy pensions, property taxes, public safety pensions, Rahm Emanuel, real estate, real estate transfer tax, surplus, tax hikes, tax increase, TIF: Tax Increment Financing, Uber, vacancies, zero-based budgeting

Illinois cellphone taxes are highest in nation, average $374 a year

By Brad Weisenstein
11/18/2019
Taxes alone hike the average Illinois cellphone bill by 31%.

TAGS: 911 fee, 911 tax, amendment, cell phone tax, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Chicago, Connecticut, constitutional amendment, emergency fee, excise tax, exit tax, Illinois, Illinois Constitution, JB Pritzker, Lori Lightfoot, middle class, municipal pensions, pension debt, pension reform, pensions, progressive income tax, Rahm Emanuel, sales tax, tax foundation, taxes, telecom, wireless tax

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