Budget + Tax

Illinois gets $5.24 million windfall as motorists rack up fees for late vehicle registration

Budget gridlock in Springfield caused the Illinois secretary of state’s office to suspend mailing vehicle-registration-renewal reminders in October 2015; as a result, the state took in $5.24 million more in fees for late license-plate renewal between January and June 21, 2016, than it did during the same period in 2015.

By Amy Korte

Illinois has a spending problem, not a revenue problem

Tax-hike proponents claim there’s no way to fix Illinois’ chronic budget problems without more money. They want Illinoisans to believe the state’s tax revenues simply aren’t enough to cover the cost of government. But tax revenues aren’t the real problem. Illinois’ perennial budget crises stem from the state’s persistent overspending and misplaced spending priorities. The...

By Ted Dabrowski, Craig Lesner, John Klingner

Brexit and Chicago’s potential bankruptcy

Pension funds aren’t immune to the volatility of the stock market. Even before Brexit, Moody’s warned that low investment returns are already putting Chicago’s pension funds at risk. A major stock market correction or another recession just might put Chicago and CPS over the edge if their already-underfunded pension systems collapse.

By Ted Dabrowski, John Klingner

Pensions over people

The pension problem was created and has been fueled by weak politicians – men and women who decided their next elections were more important than the next generation.

By Austin Berg

Madigan holds up budget to push bailout of Chicago Public Schools

Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan’s insistence that Chicago Public Schools receive more than its fair share of state education funding is putting any stopgap budget deal at risk.

By Ted Dabrowski, John Klingner

AFSCME uses prisoners as pawns in budget debate

A representative from the state-worker union called for collective action from governments of prison towns to force Gov. Bruce Rauner’s hand in the budget debate, which could expose thousands of incarcerated Illinoisans to squalid, dangerous conditions.

By Austin Berg

Illinois comptroller: The state will stop payments to lottery winners if budget stalemate drags on

If Springfield politicians do not pass a budget by June 30, the state will be forced to stop payments to winning lottery ticket holders, Illinois’ comptroller has warned.

By Amy Korte

Speaker Madigan puts politics over people

Madigan’s record $40 billion spending proposal and its $7 billion deficit revealed he was never serious about reaching a budget deal with Rauner. Instead it was nothing more than an attempt to create a deeper fiscal crisis, force additional tax hikes and create a bailout for the city of Chicago. As long as Madigan and other lawmakers keep prioritizing politics over people, Illinois will continue its downward spiral.

By Ted Dabrowski

Property taxes up 13 percent on average Chicago home

The average single-family home in Chicago will see a $400 increase in property taxes. And property-tax revenues for the city of Chicago will top $1 billion for the first time in city history.

By Austin Berg

Chicago TIF districts benefit politically connected at taxpayers’ expense

City officials are moving to develop the largest remaining plot of vacant land to ensure huge windfalls for a city-run slush fund.

By Chris Lentino

Illinois Comptroller: Most state payments will stop July 1 without budget

Munger said that if raising taxes were the only answer to the budget crisis, lawmakers would have to increase the income tax from its current 3.75 percent to 8 percent.

By Greg Bishop

Illinois school districts pass closed-door budgets, expect taxpayers to fork over more money

Legislation to make union-contract negotiations more transparent has been repeatedly proposed, but lawmakers continue to opt for secrecy at taxpayers’ expense.

By Mailee Smith

Politicians reject consolidation reforms for East St. Louis

Lawmakers missed an opportunity to provide relief for taxpayers struggling in East St. Louis.

Moody’s and S&P downgrade Illinois’ credit rating, the 16th and 17th downgrades since 2009

Major ratings agencies have assigned a negative outlook to Illinois. To move forward, the state can’t pass just any budget – especially one that’s $7 billion out-of-whack – to get beyond its crisis. With today’s fiscal stress, a bad budget is worse than no budget. A budget without reforms will only allow Illinois’ debt to continue to spiral, putting investors – and more importantly, Illinois residents – at risk.

By Ted Dabrowski, John Klingner