The Illinois House of Representatives met for about seven minutes, and the Senate met for approximately 10 minutes on June 21 before adjourning from special session – costing Illinois taxpayers $50,000 for less than 20 minutes of work.
The Illinois Republicans’ budget proposal includes billions in tax hikes and has an ineffective spending “cap” that will likely result in deficit spending by 2020. The plan’s lack of reforms sets taxpayers up for a permanent tax hike in 2022.
The cost of getting lawmakers to Springfield alone will run taxpayers $21,000 per day.
The state’s backlog of unpaid bills is expected to reach $22.7 billion if Illinois goes a third fiscal year without a budget.
Roadwork will cease at the end of June unless lawmakers appropriate funds for IDOT.
Progressive tax proposals by Illinois Democrats would punish those in Illinois’ middle class who earn $50,000 or more and make the state even less competitive with its neighbors.
Illinois’ bonds are currently priced like they are junk-rated.
Popular lotteries may stop gambling on Illinois.
Illinois’ credit rating spirals downward while residents flee to surrounding states with stronger economies and lower taxes.
The budget plan proposed by Republican General Assembly members would raise taxes by over $5 billion without enacting any significant spending reforms.
Lawmakers need to enact comprehensive property tax reform to provide relief for overburdened state taxpayers.
Local spending drivers need to be reformed to truly relieve taxpayers of Illinois’ highest-in-the-nation property taxes.
The Republican plan hits Illinoisans in fiscal year 2018 with the same $5 billion-plus tax hike from the “grand bargain” plan that failed in May. That plan starts with a 33 percent income tax increase, and includes questionable new taxes on services such as Netflix, laundry services and more.
Lake County lies about 40 miles north of Chicago’s congested urban landscape. With more than 100 lakes within county lines, the place is aptly named and offers a stark contrast to the nearby city. The Rev. Lisle Kauffman, looking over one of those lakes – Round Lake – still admires it more than four decades...