by Ashley Muchow A five-week tax amnesty period for those behind on their taxes this year began the 1st of this month. SB377, signed into law this summer, allows those who have accumulated back taxes between June 30, 2002 and July 1, 2009, to pay without penalty from October 1st to November 8th. Those tax...
by Collin Hitt Michelle Rhee has stepped down as head of Washington D.C. Public Schools. Her departure was widely expected after her boss, D.C. mayor Adrian Fenty, was defeated in the city’s mayoral primary election. The new documentary “Waiting for Superman” is making Rhee a household name. But her bold vision for D.C. schools made...
by Wesley Fox Governor Quinn recently announced a new $7 million “business investment package” that will keep U.S. Cellular’s headquarters in Illinois. The package is part of the state’s Economic Development for a Growing Economy Tax Credit Program (EDGE). The program provides tax credits to companies that promise to make capital investments within the state and create 25 new...
by Kate Piercy Not many people understand tax increment financing (TIF) very well, and the lack of transparency in the TIF process, particularly in Chicago, leaves many taxpayers unaware of exactly where TIF developments are located, how many tax dollars are going into these TIFs, and how the money is being spent. Mayoral candidates looking to fill...
by Kate Piercy Mayor Daley went forward with his plans to use TIF reserves in order to “balance” his proposed FY2011 budget, leaving it to his future replacement to tackle the inherent problems that led the city into a deficit in the first place. Balancing the budget is important, but TIFs were not created to be used...
by Collin Hitt The Chicago Tribune wrote an editorial review of “Waiting for Superman.” I’m probably quoting at too great a length below, but the editors outlined a reform platform in a remarkably efficient five paragraphs. “Waiting for Superman” has drawn a lot of blowback. Critics say the film unfairly casts teachers unions as the...
The Problem Although tax increment financing (TIF) has been around for over thirty years, many people do not understand how it works, how it affects their communities or their pocketbooks. Most people have no idea a significant portion of their property taxes are flowing into the hands of real-estate developers instead of their schools, public...
by Collin Hitt Chicago mayoral hopeful Gery Chico says that he’d be interested in bringing Paul Vallas back to run the city’s public school system. Chico mentioned the possibility to Chicago Magazine columnist Carol Thelsenthal, who had floated the idea of bringing Michelle Rhee from Washington, D.C. to Chicago. I asked announced mayoral candidate Gery Chico, a...
by Wesley Fox With the release of the 2010 Capital Bill Piglet Book highlighting wasteful spending by the state, I was curious to see what kind of wasteful spending was taking place at the federal level on behalf of Illinois. This information was gathered from the Citizens Against Government Waste Pork Database and includes their sponsored earmarks for the...
by Brian Costin This is the weekly Liberty Leaders e-mail sent out for the second week of October. To sign up for the weekly (every Tuesday) Liberty Leaders email click here, select Volunteer Opportunities (Liberty Leaders Program). Help Stop TIF Abuse Tax increment financing (TIF) has been around for over thirty years, many people do not understand...
by Heather Wilhelm Ouch! Here’s the latest news from Greece: This Saturday, one of Greece’s most respected newspapers, To Vima, reported that the nation’s largest government health insurance provider would no longer pay for special footwear for diabetes patients. Amputation is cheaper, says the Benefits Division of the state insurance provider… Greece’s National Healthcare System was created in...
by Amanda Griffin-Johnson Yesterday in Michigan, U.S. District Judge George Caram Steeh ruled that the individual mandate in the new health care legislation is constitutional because it does not constitute “an improperly apportioned direct tax.” While the legal battle is far from over, portions of his ruling are quite telling. The Hill reports: Steeh also notes that, without...
by Wesley Fox Despite Illinois’s record deficit and $6 billion in unpaid bills, Governor Quinn recently announced $50 million in new spending for the Neighborhood Recovery Initiative. The Initiative would focus on job training for adults and small businesses and also provide funds for small businesses in troubled neighborhoods with the goal of addressing violent crime problems by...
by Collin Hitt The unsurprising word has leaked that Chicago schools chief Ron Huberman – a Daley appointee – will leave his post before the beginning of a new administration. Greg Hinz… With Chicago Public Schools officials confirming a Chicago Sun-Times story that schools chief Ron Huberman will leave along with Mayor Richard M. Daley, who else...