Illinois taxpayers deserve to have a voice in budgeting decisions as politicians continually look to hike their taxes.

Of the three major ratings agencies, only Moody’s Investors Service has indicated that Illinois lawmakers’ lack of long-term solutions for reducing that debt is a severe problem.

Even with 32 percent tax hike, Illinois State Comptroller expects only $5 billion of the state’s unpaid bills to be paid down.

As part of the just-enacted state budget, the General Assembly has moved up the expiration of a tax break for sales of gasoline mixed with ethanol. This will likely make the price at the pump go up.

Tax hikes on struggling Illinoisans as the state is bordering on a recession, a lack of structural spending reforms, no true pension reform, $100 million in pork spending, and the continued threat of a junk credit rating are among the ways the new Illinois budget fails taxpayers.

The state will eat a 32 percent larger chunk out of most workers’ paychecks, retroactive to July 1.

The Illinois Department of Revenue issued details on how to comply with the state’s increase income tax, signaling the reality of higher taxes for Illinoisans.

New findings from the Mercatus Center highlight how Illinois’ reliance on debt and costly pension and other employment benefits have put the state on the wrong fiscal track.

That total comes from $2.4 million lost due to the absence of Powerball ticket sales and $1.4 million lost due to the absence of Mega Millions ticket sales.

The Illinois House of Representatives has completed an override of Gov. Bruce Rauner’s veto of a budget plan, including multibillion-dollar tax increases.