Preckwinkle delays soda tax repeal vote
Preckwinkle delays soda tax repeal vote
With mounting pressure, a vote on the repeal of the soda tax was delayed for another month.
Metra proposes fare hikes for 4th consecutive year
Metra proposes fare hikes for 4th consecutive year
Blaming Illinois state budget cuts, Metra considers raising fares in 2018, despite previous fare schedule.
Cook County isn’t buying soda tax health concerns
Cook County isn’t buying soda tax health concerns
A We Ask America poll shows 87.5 percent of respondents think Cook County commissioners support the sweetened beverage tax for reasons other than health.
More than 250 Peoria city employees receive over $150K in compensation
More than 250 Peoria city employees receive over $150K in compensation
Lucrative compensation for government workers stands in stark contrast to the city’s budgetary struggles and a flagging local economy.
Each Chicago household on the hook for $82K in local government debt
Each Chicago household on the hook for $82K in local government debt
After a tax hike spree from Chicago-area politicians, residents are stuck paying more only to carry an ever-larger load of debt.
Ken Jarosch
Ken Jarosch
“Just look at the soda tax. How many lawsuits are out there to Walgreens and McDonald’s and 7-Eleven because they couldn’t program their registers and they couldn’t figure out how to train their people … it’s a real challenge … And it’s not just a customer coming in and saying, ‘hey you overcharged me on...
Illinoisans get $6B more in long-term debt, but no reforms
Illinoisans get $6B more in long-term debt, but no reforms
While borrowing to help pay down the state’s unpaid bill backlog will save money on interest payments and relieve pressure on those waiting for cash, it also perpetuates Illinois’ spending problem.
Oswego hikes taxes on fuel and prepared food and beverages
Oswego hikes taxes on fuel and prepared food and beverages
The new taxes are planned to pay for road maintenance and improvement as well as general use. As is the case in communities throughout Illinois, pension costs are crowding out other spending in Oswego.
Voters could flex their muscles after sticker shock from soda tax
Voters could flex their muscles after sticker shock from soda tax
Recent polls show Cook County officials could face electoral backlash for supporting the soda tax.
Labor Day weekend travel made pricier by Illinois’ gas taxes
Labor Day weekend travel made pricier by Illinois’ gas taxes
Illinois’ multilayered state and local gas taxes drive up prices at the pump
Chicagoans: Brace for yet another tax hike
Chicagoans: Brace for yet another tax hike
A new property tax hike worth as much as $148 million is set to hit Chicagoans as part of the latest school funding proposal. That’s on top of the record-breaking property tax hikes Mayor Rahm Emanuel approved in 2015 and a litany of other city and county taxes and fees.
Rauner issues amendatory veto of banker bailout bill
Rauner issues amendatory veto of banker bailout bill
House Bill 3004 would have put banks and bondholders ahead of taxpayers and those who rely on government services. But Gov. Bruce Rauner’s amendatory veto strips the bill of those bailout provisions.
Report: More than one-third of Chicago city workers make more than $100K annually
Report: More than one-third of Chicago city workers make more than $100K annually
Median pay for city workers was nearly $93,000 in 2016.
Illinois House passes school funding plan, tax credit scholarships
Illinois House passes school funding plan, tax credit scholarships
After failing to override Gov. Bruce Rauner’s amendatory veto of Senate Bill 1, which stripped a Chicago bailout from the education funding proposal, Illinois House members voted to pass a compromise bill containing the state’s first-ever tax credit scholarship program.