Including cash from an imagined Thompson Center sale in state budgets was so common it became a punchline. But Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a law that finally puts the massive state office complex on the market.
Illinoisans already pay some of the highest taxes in the country at the pump. But a political problem for Gov. J.B. Pritzker could mean they’ll pay even more.
Selling family farmland to pay Illinois’ estate tax could end if a pair of bills take root in the General Assembly.
Because the governor doesn’t address state and local governments’ ballooning pension costs, the typical Illinois family will continue to see their tax bills rise.
Without reform, Illinois’ pension problem will continue to force tax hikes while crowding out the core services residents need.
By reducing administrative bloat in Illinois school districts, the bill would enable property tax relief while ensuring education dollars reach students and classrooms first, rather than bureaucrats.
Those pushing the bag tax in Illinois may not care much about the body of research on this topic. They’re looking out for a different kind of green. In a scramble for new revenue and an unwillingness to take on any reform on the spending side, the Statehouse has turned to creative ways to nickel-and-dime residents.
Lawmakers in the Illinois House are weighing a bill that would tax streaming and satellite service users “for the privilege to witness, view, or otherwise enjoy the entertainment.”
Illinoisans are among the nation’s most overtaxed residents. A proposed Illinois constitutional amendment would require a two-thirds majority in both chambers before adding to that burden.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker's inconsistent progressive income tax numbers don't add up, which means he will have to pass middle-class tax hikes to raise what he wants to spend.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker promised tax relief for 97 percent of Illinoisans as a selling point for his proposed “fair tax.” But a new ad campaign abandons that claim.
Illinoisans face the highest average combined sales tax in the Midwest. A new bill would show consumers exactly where those dollars are going on every purchase receipt.
A bill that would double the gas tax imposed at the state level would drive up Illinoisans’ overall gas burden to second-highest in the nation – while hiking a truckload of other vehicle costs including higher license plate fees.
Voting for an amendment with Pritzker’s rates attached would be another political promise, made to be broken. And voting for an amendment without them? That’s just a blank check.