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Chicago Sun-Times: Illinois moves into the top 20 personal income tax states
When state lawmakers voted last week to override Gov. Bruce Rauner’s budget veto, the personal income tax rate Illinois residents pay increased – and so did Illinois’ ranking among all 50 states.
Illinois had ranked 33rd with its 3.75 percent rate. With the personal income tax rate rising to 4.95 percent, Illinois’ rank bumps up to 16th, according to tax-rates.org.
Crain's Chicago Business: Rauner: Here's how the new budget fails Illinois
More than two years have passed since the citizens of Illinois sent me to Springfield to challenge the old way of doing business. We knew then that the state was irresponsibly shortchanging our children’s future by our political leaders’ unwillingness to live within our means. It was time to hold elected officials of both parties accountable for the culture of corruption and cronyism that has created economic stagnation and a fiscal crisis. It was time to enact reforms that can unleash the potential of our economy and ensure that Illinois is a state where our children and grandchildren can thrive.
Chicago Sun-Times: Senate president: budgetary bleeding stopped, infusion still needed
It was bloody.
“It took two years and an insurrection to stop the bleeding,” Senate President John Cullerton told Sneed the day after a 700-plus day budget fiasco ended.
“The bleeding may have been stopped, but an infusion is still needed and the patient is still in the hospital dealing with the pain of debt.”
There’s more.
Chicago Tribune: Illinois' financial challenges remain despite income tax increase
A new Illinois income tax increase means workers soon will see 1.2 percent more taken out of their paychecks, but even that money isn’t going to be enough to completely straighten out state government’s finances.
The state still has unpaid bills hovering around $15 billion, and that number could rise as more come in with the fog of the record-setting budget impasse lifting. There are cash flow issues that mean covering monthly expenses remains a challenge, at least for a while. And a whopping $130 billion shortfall in government worker pension systems has not been addressed, with the options for doing so limited by the courts.
Chicago Tribune: Sabotaging Illinois: Legislators' tax-hike budget won't stanch the exodus of jobs and people
Illinois’ downward spiral began several decades ago. Now, it deepens.
You know about the 32 percent personal income tax hike that legislators just imposed.
And you know that even the extra $5 billion snaked out of taxpayers’ pockets won’t stop Illinois’ spiral. Nothing in this budget will stanch the flow of jobs and people to other states. So now what?
Fox Illinois: Schools get funding now that impasse is over, say it's not enough
After an over two-year budget impasse, schools in Illinois finally have some relief.
The budget that passed Thursday allocates $8.2 billion to school funding.
Bloomington Pantagraph: Service agencies: Budget deal may be 'too little, too late'
Central Illinois human services agencies — many enduring more than two years of being paid late or less than was owed by the state for some services — applauded the state’s first budget since June 2015 but warned the damage that’s already been done can’t be reversed.
“We applaud all of the legislators who finally took a stand and said ‘enough is enough’ and voted to override the governor’s veto,” said Liz German of YWCA McLean County. “This is a step in the right direction and was completely necessary to avoid additional catastrophic (human services agency) shutdowns and financial repercussions.”
Chicago Sun-Times: Budget agreement brings sigh of relief but state haunted by backlog
While social service agencies and public universities are breathing a sigh of relief with a budget agreement in place, it will take some time for the state to unwind from a financial hole that’s left a $15 billion bill backlog.
Revenue from an income tax hike — estimated at $4.3 billion — won’t help the state immediately. The tax increase was part of a budget package vetoed by Gov. Bruce Rauner; that veto was overridden on Tuesday by the Illinois Senate and then on Thursday by the Illinois House.
Chicago Tribune: End of state budget impasse brings stability, disappointment for business
Illinois’ bruising two-year run without a state budget is over, but business leaders are left feeling they got the short end of the stick: higher taxes with virtually none of the regulatory and political changes they sought.
The $36.1 billion budget plan increases the corporate income tax rate to 7 percent from 5.25 percent and the personal rate to 4.95 percent from 3.75 percent. In addition to spending cuts, it ends three corporate tax breaks and, on a business-friendly note, reinstates a research and development tax credit. Lawmakers voted Tuesday and Thursday to override Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner’s vetoes.
Associated Press: How Illinois lawmakers got into, ended historic impasse
Illinois’ historic budget impasse ended Thursday when lawmakers voted to override the GOP governor’s veto and give the state its first spending plan in more than two years. But there was little rejoicing.
While some crises will be averted, taxes will go up and some areas will see state spending cuts under the new plan. Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and Democrats who control the Legislature remain hugely divided. And Illinois’ finances are significantly worse than when the impasse started in 2015.
Chicago Tribune: Woman who was arrested after lockdown at Illinois Capitol has been released
The woman who thrust the Illinois Capitol into a two-hour lockdown Thursday when she allegedly threw a powdery substance in Gov. Bruce Rauner’s office was released Thursday evening, the Illinois secretary of state said in a statement Friday afternoon.
The Sangamon County state’s attorney will decide whether criminal charges are appropriate pending the end of an investigation, according to the statement.
Chicago Tribune: Wall Street agency warns of further city debt downgrade
One Wall Street bond rating agency on Friday warned that Chicago could face yet another debt downgrade because of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s commitment to keeping the city’s schools financially afloat.
A day after warning Chicago Public Schools could be pushed further into junk bond status, Moody’s Investors Service issued a similar warning to the city. The agency contended that a “commitment from the city’s administration to staving off further deterioration in the (school) district’s finances suggest the possibility of more direct intervention by the city in the district’s fiscal affairs.”
Chicago Sun-Times: Amid money troubles, NEIU boss flew to D.C. for Trump inauguration
With Northeastern Illinois University facing a worsening financial situation that soon led to unpaid furloughs, the cancellation of three school days and layoffs of 180 employees, the state college’s $294,500-a-year interim president headed to Washington in January to attend President Donald Trump’s inauguration — a nearly $4,500 trip.
Records obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times show Richard Helldobler stayed four nights at the Grand Hyatt in a room that cost an average of more than $740 a night — $2,972.42 in all.
NBC 5 Chicago: Layoffs Likely if Cook County Soda Tax Isn't Reinstated, Agency Heads Say
Unless a controversial new Cook County tax on sugary beverages is reinstituted, all county agencies will be expected to make serious spending cuts, several agency heads say.
According to the Chicago Tribune and other outlets, all county agency heads received a letter from Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle that they would need to slash their budgets by 10 percent before Aug. 1 if the soda tax, currently blocked by restraining order, is not reinstated.
Quincy Herald-Whig: Low jail bid comes in at nearly $33.9M, still higher than $29M budget
Each of the four bids submitted for the new Adams County Jail project came in higher than the $29 million budget during a bid opening Thursday.
Poettker Construction of Breese was the apparent low bidder at $33.837 million. The largest bid came in at $36.490 million. Bids from Peoria, East Peoria, Breese and Highland companies were received, but no bids were submitted by local companies. The bids were opened publicly Thursday afternoon at the Kroc Center.
Decatur Herald & Review: As $91 million dredging continues, Lake Decatur users navigate safety concerns
A critical project for the future of Lake Decatur is causing headaches for some boaters and lakefront homeowners.
The $91 million, around-the-clock dredging has removed so much sediment that the man-made lake is as much as 6 feet deeper in some places. The 2,800-acre body serves as the community’s main reservoir for drinking water and industrial use. The depth has been increased to allow for another 34 days worth of the water supply, which city leaders have said is crucial for an industry town stricken by drought just five years ago.
State Journal-Register: Prospects dim for proposed TIF near Rochester
A Rochester-based developer says he’s continuing to lobby Springfield officials to convince them of the economic boost a proposed residential tax increment financing district east of Hilltop Road could provide.
But some officials are unsure the potential loss of revenue to the Rochester School District, which includes the proposed housing development, is worth the risk.