Get the latest news from around Illinois.
Champaign News-Gazette: Pritzker hits tax road hard
One of the cliches of politics is that candidates campaign in poetry and govern in prose. That means they forget about a lot of what they said before being elected.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker promised during last year’s campaign that he was going to look out for the little guys, providing tax cuts for the middle class as well as those striving to join the middle class.
But that was then, and this is now.
Champaign News-Gazette: Not everyone is buying Pritzker's claim of balanced budget
New Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has been crowing about his accomplishments during the recent legislative session, perhaps none more than his Svengali-like accomplishment passing what he calls a “balanced budget.”
“We achieved something that has eluded state government for decades. We passed a real balanced budget. Just a few years ago, passing a budget was considered nearly impossible, and for years before that, the budget included gimmicks and tricks and was balanced in name only. Those days are over,” Pritzker said.
Chicago Tribune: To declutter Illinois and save dollars, eliminate townships
How many units of government do you think there are in Illinois? Two thousand? Five thousand? Try 6,963. That’s more than any other state. Illinois has housing authorities, museum districts, mosquito abatement districts, drainage districts … even cemetery districts: 26 of them.
Oh yes, and townships. Illinois has 1,428 townships. Townships’ raison d’etre boils down to three functions: tasks associated with property assessment, the maintenance of roads that aren’t covered by other levels of government and financial aid for the poor via efforts such as food banks. All three functions are important. All three can be handled by municipal and/or county governments.
Chicago Tribune: Despite Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s legislative wins, Illinois ‘not out of the woods’ financially
The mood was upbeat earlier this month when state lawmakers wrapped up their spring session after passing a $40 billion budget and a $45 billion capital construction plan, both funded by millions of dollars in new and increased taxes and revenue streams.
Supporters of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s agenda hailed it as a new direction toward remedying Illinois’ chronically precarious finances, the state still owes billions of dollars in unpaid bills and unfunded pension liabilities.
The Southern: Residents still concerned as IDNR decides whether to grant permit to allow mine waste in Big Muddy River
Southern Illinois can often be a place of tense convergence. The land between two rivers is cherished by many for a multitude of reasons.
Some, when looking at the hills, valleys, rivers and lakes, see a place of immeasurable beauty, grand enough to want to wrap their arms around it if they were big enough.