A recent analysis ranked 75 of the most populated cities in terms of fiscal health - and placed the Windy City next to dead-last.
Illinois is broke. But leaders don’t act like it.
The Taxpayer Fiscal Charter Act would demand funding transparency before spending bills make their way out of Springfield.
An order currently under consideration by Chicago City Council challenges the assessments of seven properties, four of which have been the subject of property tax appeals by the law firms of Chicago Alderman Ed Burke or Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan.
Illinois will not diverge from its path of poor growth until lawmakers realize the failures of recent tax hikes.
Illinois' fifth-largest city is moving to raise taxes on telecommunications and hotels, and fold homesharing into the latter.
Under the guise of rehabilitating underserved communities, Chicago City Council approved another tax transfer to a private company.
Alderman Ricardo Munoz's proposal highlights seven expensive properties in or around the Loop that aldermen contend were underassessed, shifting the property tax burden to other property owners.
House Bill 4244 would give McHenry County voters an easier path to having a choice in eliminating their township governments, encouraging consolidation in a county where residents pay some of the highest property taxes in the nation.
The 2011 tax hikes cost the state economy $55.8 billion in real GDP from 2012-2016.
With statewide elections in November, the 2018 forecast calls for gridlock.
Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan, Senate President John Cullerton and state Rep. Robert Martwick are all involved in the clout-heavy cottage industry of property tax appeals.
The Cook County assessor may have to pay $41,000 in fines for accepting donations in excess of the limit allowed by Cook County campaign finance rules.
The office of Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx signed off on a $2 million property tax settlement with the property tax firm headed by Foxx campaign donor Alderman Ed Burke.