Get the latest news from around Illinois.
The Center Square: Illinoisans again shoulder heaviest tax burden in nation
Illinoisans again paid the highest total state and local tax burden in the nation.
That’s according to the annual “Best and worst states to be a taxpayer” report from the financial site WalletHub.
Crain's Chicago Business: Fate of Chicago drivers' impounded cars in Supreme Court's hands
Scheduled for oral arguments on April 20, the case, Chicago v. Fulton, centers around whether the federal bankruptcy code requires Chicago to turn over repossessed cars as soon as a debtor files for bankruptcy. The city impounds cars based on the failure to pay traffic-related fines. A joint ProPublica/WBEZ investigation into Chicago’s parking and sticker violation practices found those tickets prompted so many bankruptcies that the court here leads the nation in Chapter 13 bankruptcy filings.
WTTW: Lawmakers press Peoples Gas on high utility bills
It’s been a mild winter, but for many Chicago residents, that hasn’t necessarily meant lower heating costs. Peoples Gas, the private utility company that delivers natural gas to the entire city, is in the midst of a massive infrastructure upgrade, and consumers are paying for it.
Chicago aldermen on Thursday will hold a City Council hearing asking the company to rein in some of those costs.
Chicago Sun-Times: Aldermen crack down on online bottled water sales, even as virus-driven shopping sprees continue
Consumers are stocking up on bottled water — along with toilet paper, hand sanitizer and canned goods — amid fears they might be quarantined after contracting the coronavirus or that shipments may somehow be cut off.
Many of those bottled water purchases are being made online, allowing Chicago consumers to dodge the city’s five-cents a bottle tax.
Crain's Chicago Business: Some aldermen want a new deal with Peoples Gas
Frustrated by high rates and what they view as a lack of oversight from the Illinois Commerce Commission, some Chicago aldermen are pressing for a franchise agreement to govern Peoples Gas operations in the city.
“If the ICC isn’t going to be the backstop and defender of ratepayers in Chicago, maybe the city of Chicago needs to take up some of that work itself,” Ald. Brendan Reilly, 42nd, suggested at a hearing with Peoples Gas officials prompted by complaints from AARP members over gas bills. “I’m not happy with the costs that are being passed along. This idea that we have to accelerate deployment means higher costs passed along to us, yet somehow this company continues to post a nice, healthy dividend. I’d encourage my colleagues to study up on this parent company that’s doing awfully well while senior citizens struggle to pay their bills.”
Chicago Sun-Times: Alderman has the answer to financial crisis posed by coronavirus: legalize video gaming
Chicago should legalize video gambling to plug a giant hole in the city’s $11.6 billion budget caused by the coronavirus, Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s City council floor leader said Thursday.
With conventions and concerts cancelling, professional sports leagues on hiatus and more and more employees working from home, city revenues are dropping like a rock.