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Lightfoot cancels property tax hike in announcing new budget

By Dylan Sharkey

10/03/2022

Months before her February election, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot laid out to residents her $16.4 billion budget proposal for 2023. Lightfoot is walking back her plan to hike the city’s property tax levy by $42.7 million as an inflationary adjustment. She chose in 2020 to tie property tax hikes to inflation with a cap of...

TAGS: budget, Lori Lightfoot

Springfield asks residents to remove duplicate layer of government

By Dylan Sharkey

09/29/2022

The Springfield City Council voted to add an advisory referendum to the April ballot asking voters whether to eliminate the local township and let the city handle its duties.

TAGS: local government consolidation, townships

Crypto exchange FTX moving U.S. headquarters out of Illinois

By Dylan Sharkey

09/29/2022

FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried announced the cryptocurrency exchange is moving its U.S. headquarters to Miami. It’s the fifth major company to relocate its headquarters out of Illinois this year.

Illinois early voting starts as vote-by-mail ballots go out

By Ann Miller

09/29/2022

With 40 days until the election, Illinois residents can vote early at their local county clerks’ office. Vote-by-mail ballots should arrive soon, but there is still time to apply for one.

TAGS: early voting

Cook County sends property tax bills by Thanksgiving, due after Christmas

By Patrick Andriesen

09/28/2022

Happy holidays, Cook County homeowners. The second installment of your property tax bills will arrive around Thanksgiving. They won’t be due until after Christmas but before New Year’s.

TAGS: Cook County, property taxes

Nearly half of Illinois’ metropolitan areas lost jobs in August

By Justin Carlson

09/28/2022

The latest job numbers show Illinois continues struggling to recover pandemic job losses, a bad sign for its lagging economy as recession fears rise.

Southern Illinois taxpayers spend $124.5M since 2002 to keep airport open

By Brad Weisenstein

09/28/2022

An underused airport near Belleville, Illinois, has required local taxpayers to chip in $124.5 million since 2002 to keep it operating.

TAGS: MidAmerica Airport

Fact check: Homeowners worse off under Pritzker

By Dylan Sharkey

09/27/2022

Gov. J.B. Pritzker stressed the importance of homeownership in Illinois. Under his administration, homeowners have seen their property taxes grow by $2,288.

TAGS: JB Pritzker, property taxes

Illinois to legalize internet gambling, executives predict

By Patrick Andriesen

09/27/2022

A new report predicts legalized internet gambling would generate $273.3 million a year in new revenue for Illinois. A safer bet for Illinois’ state workers would be constitutional pension reform.

TAGS: Chicago, gambling

Union member: Amendment 1 works against union interests

By Ann Miller

09/26/2022

A union member argues both government union members and taxpayers lose if Amendment 1 passes Nov. 8. He’s against it.

TAGS: Amendment 1

Fixing Illinois pension crisis by amending nation’s most-restrictive pension law is legal, effective

Illinois is home to one of the worst pension crises in the country.1 At 39% funded, according to the nonpartisan Pew Charitable Trusts, Illinois has the worst pension funding ratio of any state.2 By contrast, neighboring Wisconsin’s pension system is 103% funded.3 In fiscal year 2022, Illinois’ total general funds pension costs, including pension bond...

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