Budget + Tax Archives

Illinois’ property taxes are out of control, let taxpayers take driver’s seat

Piecemeal fixes to the state’s property-tax problem have failed. It’s time to give the purse strings back to average Illinoisans.

By David Giuliani

Auditor general: Illinois Department of Corrections workers abusing overtime

IDOC employees were paid for over a million hours of overtime in 2014.

By Bryant Jackson-Green

The Chicago penalty

Chicago paid a premium on its recent bond offerings. Why? Default risk.

Yield on Chicago Public Schools bond offering hits 5.63%, bankruptcy the sensible option

Where is the school district going to get $1.1 billion? The state? Think again.

Sauk Valley taxpayers could come out ahead on revenue-sharing reform

Income-tax revenue represents just one-sixth of the $6.1 billion the state gives to local governments every year. Proposed reforms would leave untouched the vast majority of that money.

By David Giuliani

DeKalb County taxpayers may find relief with revenue-sharing reform

If taxpayers can get a bigger bang for their buck, they should get it.

By David Giuliani

On revenue-sharing reform, McHenry County taxpayers win for a change

Local governments must pare their budgets, forcing them to identify best practices they should have found already.

By David Giuliani

Tax season isn’t over: Illinoisans will work 120 days to pay for government in 2015

Illinois taxpayers celebrate Tax Freedom Day nearly two weeks after their peers in neighboring states.

By Austin Berg

ObamaCare brings another unwelcome Tax Day surprise for Illinoisans

How an SEIU contract sticks Illinois taxpayers with the costs of rising premiums under ObamaCare.

By Naomi Lopez Bauman

Illinois’ middle class shrinking as property taxes shoot to record levels

Illinois stands out in the Midwest for unaffordable housing – 34 percent of Illinois households spend more than 30 cents per dollar of income on housing, more than any other state in the region.

By Michael Lucci

Pew study blows hole in myth that Illinois has a revenue problem

Tax revenues in Illinois are up 22.5 percent over pre-recession highs, while 30 other states are collecting less tax revenue today than they were before the recession began.

By Michael Lucci

The shockingly bad fiscal health of Chicago (and the financial engineering used to hide it)

State lawmakers and the city of Chicago owe taxpayers an honest assessment. It's a sad state of affairs when we have to get that assessment from a bond guru in Kentucky.

Lake County shortchanged by Local Government Distributive Fund

Lake County gets back just 73 cents for every dollar it pays into the LGDF.

By Naomi Lopez Bauman

DuPage County shortchanged by Local Government Distributive Fund

DuPage County gets back just 79 cents for every dollar it pays into LGDF.

By Naomi Lopez Bauman