With less than four weeks until the election, those for and against the progressive tax amendment continue to present their case.

The amendment would scrap the state’s flat-rate income tax for a new structure allowing lawmakers to tax different levels of income at fluctuating tax rates. Gov. J.B. Pritzker said a progressive rate that taxes the wealthy more is a necessary step toward putting Illinois on firm financial footing. Whether voters agree could have profound implications for the state, which continues to have the worst credit rating of any in the U.S.

Civic Federation President Laurence Msall is urging Mayor Lori Lightfoot to steer clear of raising property taxes in the middle of a pandemic and erase a $1.2 billion shortfall by confronting the sacred cows of city government.

Reconcile the number of firehouses with a decline in fire calls and a spike in medical emergencies and eliminate minimum staffing levels that triggered the bitter 1980 firefighters strike.

Hundreds of people awaiting trial in Cook County have remained in the sheriff’s custody for longer than two years while their criminal cases get postponed again and again.

That’s according to an internal review by Sheriff Tom Dart’s office that shows judges are a key factor in long delays in criminal cases.

Cannabis sales in Illinois are booming, but the taxes the state takes in won’t fix Illinois’ financial challenges, the latest figures show.

Depending on the potency of the product, it can have taxes of 40 percent or more. Since the adult-use program began in Illinois, dispensaries have sold more than $431 million worth of cannabis products. The state has taken in more than $106 million in revenue.