Illinois corporate tax breaks serve as blank checks for big business
Illinois corporate tax breaks serve as blank checks for big business
Illinois taxpayers are the ones who must ultimately pay the price for crony deals.
2015 State Business Tax Climate Index: Illinois drops to 31st
2015 State Business Tax Climate Index: Illinois drops to 31st
Illinois’ burdensome tax climate for businesses will continue to hold the state back from creating jobs and growing the economy in 2015. The Tax Foundation issued its 2015 State Business Tax Climate Index, reporting that Illinois dropped two positions in the ranking since last year, to 31st from 29th. Prior to 2011, Illinois steadily ranked...
Chicago cellphone taxes highest in nation
Chicago cellphone taxes highest in nation
Everywhere they look, Chicagoans see ads urging them to switch their cellphone service. One major provider urges customers to purchase a four-line family plan with all the texting, talking and data one could possibly use for only $100 per month. But the ad fails to mention that a Chicago family would actually have to pay...
Illinois Tollway fees a good example of how Illinois politicians interpret ‘temporary’
Illinois Tollway fees a good example of how Illinois politicians interpret ‘temporary’
In the past two years, the Illinois Tollway Authority has filed lawsuits totaling $11 million against drivers who didn’t pay tolls – a fee that was originally sold to the public as “temporary.” When the Illinois Tollway was originally created in 1953, lawmakers used the revenue to pay for the original bonding needed to build...
Chicago’s budget includes higher tax rates for parking, vehicle leasing and cable TV
Chicago’s budget includes higher tax rates for parking, vehicle leasing and cable TV
Mayor Rahm Emanuel delivered his 2015 Chicago budget proposal to the City Council last week. He did so expressing pride that he did not increase property taxes, sales taxes or the gas tax – the big three taxes that support the city budget. That said, his budget proposal continues to nickel-and-dime Chicago taxpayers with new...
Kankakee County asks voters to hike county-level sales taxes by 800%
Kankakee County asks voters to hike county-level sales taxes by 800%
Kankakee County already has one of the highest average property tax rates in the country. In 2012, the Tax Foundation ranked Kankakee County as having the 79th-highest property taxes in the nation out of more than 800 of the largest counties in the U.S. Soon, Kankakee County could have one of the highest sales-tax rates...
School districts should stop using tax dollars to support ballot measures
School districts should stop using tax dollars to support ballot measures
Should a school district be allowed to use your tax dollars to promote a ballot measure that would raise sales taxes? Of course not. In fact, the Illinois State Officials and Employees Ethics Act requires all units of local government, including school boards, to adopt policies prohibiting their officials and employees from using government resources...
Champaign County breaks promise on sales-tax hike
Champaign County breaks promise on sales-tax hike
Property taxes for school districts in Champaign County have risen substantially, despite property-tax relief promises made regarding the County School Facility Sales Tax enacted in 2009. And there’s reason to believe districts across the state might suffer the same fate. In April 2009, Champaign County passed a referendum for a 1 percent increase in the...
Illinois has given companies more than $830M in EDGE tax credits since 1999
Illinois has given companies more than $830M in EDGE tax credits since 1999
Illinois’ Economic Development for a Growing Economy, or EDGE, tax credit program has been making the news from time to time during recent months, mostly in the context of discussions on how to reform Illinois taxes and grow Illinois’ economy simultaneously. The program is on the chopping block. Notably, talk of changes to the EDGE...
Legislative exemption ignores the real budget crisis
Legislative exemption ignores the real budget crisis
As the state of Illinois moves deeper into budgetary crisis, the people of Illinois are depending upon government leaders to confront serious fiscal challenges with maturity, wisdom, courage and responsibility. The character exhibited by our governor and legislative leaders in this crisis will determine the trajectory of our state for years to come. Focus on...
State, suburbs double down on Divvy
State, suburbs double down on Divvy
Chicago’s Divvy bikes will soon be pedaled down suburban streets. On Sept. 29, Gov. Pat Quinn approved a $3 million state grant expanding the bike-share program to the suburbs of Evanston and Oak Park, while adding 50 new docking stations to Chicago’s Garfield Park, Austin, Rogers Park and West Rogers park neighborhoods. Seven hundred new...
Bad blood makes for bad policy in General Assembly’s budget exemption
Bad blood makes for bad policy in General Assembly’s budget exemption
Does bad blood between political leaders justify bad public policy? Most Illinoisans don’t think so, especially when the result is legislation that exempts their lawmakers from budgetary oversight. Earlier this year, at the midnight hour of spring session, Illinois’ legislative leaders carved out a special exemption for themselves from the state budgeting process. They enacted...
Illinois General Assembly exempts itself from spending cuts, appropriations process
Illinois General Assembly exempts itself from spending cuts, appropriations process
In the throes of Illinois’ fiscal crisis, nearly every nook and cranny of the Illinois state budget should be fair game for review and reduction. But some state lawmakers don’t seem to think so, especially when it comes to their money. In the waning hours of the final day of this year’s spring session, state...
Chicago takes pole position in race for Obama library, no tax dollars required
Chicago takes pole position in race for Obama library, no tax dollars required
On Sept. 15, the Barack Obama Foundation announced four semifinalists in the battle to build Barack Obama’s presidential library and museum. The four potential host sites include the University of Chicago, the University of Illinois at Chicago, Columbia University in New York City and the University of Hawaii. Holding two of the four slots, the...