Illinois universities are blaming the recent budget impasse for their declining enrollment and financial problems. But the problems in higher education started long before the budget fight, and are largely self-inflicted.
With mounting pressure, a vote on the repeal of the soda tax was delayed for another month.
Blaming Illinois state budget cuts, Metra considers raising fares in 2018, despite previous fare schedule.
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.
Lucrative compensation for government workers stands in stark contrast to the city’s budgetary struggles and a flagging local economy.
After a tax hike spree from Chicago-area politicians, residents are stuck paying more only to carry an ever-larger load of debt.
“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...
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.
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.
Recent polls show Cook County officials could face electoral backlash for supporting the soda tax.
Illinois’ multilayered state and local gas taxes drive up prices at the pump
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.
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.
Median pay for city workers was nearly $93,000 in 2016.