Tax on Uber, Lyft rides in downtown Chicago set to triple Jan. 1

By Vincent Caruso

12/09/2019

Chicagoans will pay higher taxes on rideshare trips in 2020 as part of Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s first budget.

TAGS: budget, cabs, Chicago, Chicago Department of Transportation, congestion tax, CTA: Chicago Transit Authority, downtown, fees, Illinois Constitution, lyft, outmigration, pension reform, population, ride-sharing, taxis, transportation, Uber

Chicago’s 2020 budget proposal was never truly balanced

By Adam Schuster, Bill Reveille

11/26/2019

Faced with the impossible task of balancing Chicago’s budget without pension reform, Mayor Lori Lightfoot is forced to partially rely on phantom cuts and revenues.

TAGS: 2020 Budget Forecast, bonds, budget, budget gap, CAFR: Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, Chicago, Chicago City Council, chicago city hall, constitutional amendment, CTA: Chicago Transit Authority, CTU: Chicago Teachers Union, deficit, emergency fee, fire pensions, homelessness, housing market, Illinois General Assembly, interest rates, library, Lori Lightfoot, lyft, pension contributions, pension crisis, pension debt, pension obligations, policy pensions, property taxes, public safety pensions, Rahm Emanuel, real estate, real estate transfer tax, surplus, tax hikes, tax increase, TIF: Tax Increment Financing, Uber, vacancies, zero-based budgeting

Illinois property tax relief begins by culling nearly 7,000 local government units

By Adam Schuster

10/08/2019

Illinois’ overabundance of local government layers provides ample room to consolidate and save property taxes.

TAGS: budget, consolidation, local government consolidation, municipal pensions, pension guarantee, pensions, property taxes, taxes, townships

Peotone airport gains in new state budget, but history shows taxpayers lose

By Ben Szalinski

09/27/2019

Funding for a third Chicagoland airport was included in the latest state budget. The controversial plan brings a risk for more corruption and overspending that will cost taxpayers millions.

TAGS: airport, budget, JB Pritzker, peotone, south suburban airport, taxes

Watchdog: Illinois fiscal health 2nd worst in nation

By Joe Barnas

09/25/2019

Illinois politicians have too often ignored the necessity of true pension reform and instead opted for tax hikes.

TAGS: budget, debt, taxes, Truth in Accounting

City of Springfield needs $269M in tax hikes to fund pensions

By Ben Szalinski

09/17/2019

The city of Springfield needs nearly $270 million more in revenue to meet the required contributions to its pension funds for retired police officers and firefighters.

TAGS: budget, municipal pensions, pension guarantee, pensions, property taxes, taxes

Pritzker warns Illinois state agencies to brace for ‘significant’ budget cuts

By Vincent Caruso

09/16/2019

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker advised state agencies to prepare for budget cuts next fiscal year, despite approving $4.7 billion in tax and fee hikes in his first year alone.

TAGS: budget, JB Pritzker, municipal pensions, pension guarantee, pensions, taxes

Audit finds Illinois spent $4.6M on Medicaid coverage for dead people

By Ben Szalinski

09/09/2019

A federal health department audit found Illinois spent $4.6 million in Medicaid payments on behalf of deceased beneficiaries.

TAGS: budget, Medicaid, taxes

Taxpayer support for southwestern Illinois airport hits $104.3 million

By Brad Weisenstein

08/30/2019

Each year St. Clair County, Illinois, taxpayers must add money to keep MidAmerica St. Louis Airport open. While passenger traffic is increasing, so are expenses.

TAGS: budget, MidAmerica Airport, St. Clair County

Pritzker promises over $10B in new spending on $3.4B progressive tax hike

By Tivas Gupta, Adam Schuster

08/07/2019

Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s “fair tax” plan falls far short of the revenue needed to pay for his spending promises – feeding fears of future tax hikes on middle-class families.

TAGS: budget, graduated income tax, income tax, JB Pritzker, progressive income tax, Spending, taxes

Power in payments: Illinois can help unbanked residents, save money by adopting best practices in payment methods

Each year, tens of billions of dollars flow through Illinois state government.1 These flows all depend on methods of payment. In deciding on those payment methods, policymakers must consider a number of important factors, including security controls, cost effectiveness, accessibility, speed and allowance for choice. This report shows that by adopting best practices across all...

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Power in payments: Illinois can help unbanked residents, save money by adopting best practices in payment methods

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Ifeoma Nkemdi

Policy lessons from Illinois’ exodus of people and money

CBS Chicago: Illinois’ highest-paid superintendent receives $400K per year to oversee 1,200 students