The Illinois Senate’s proposed budget deal is full of tax hikes because it lacks the necessary spending reforms needed to right Illinois’ fiscal ship.

On average, Illinois schools spend $13,077 per student.

Illinois lawmakers need a new approach to budget-making – one that takes into account the state’s financial mess, shows respect for taxpayers, and prioritizes spending to meet the needs of the poorest and most disadvantaged residents.

Lisa Madigan lost the first round in her quest to stop state worker pay during Illinois’ budget impasse. But that doesn’t mean the matter is settled. The attorney general could take this issue all the way to the Illinois Supreme Court.

The governor should reject tax hikes and push for the structural spending reforms Illinois needs to fix its fiscal crisis and improve its economy.

Illinois’ combined state and average local sales tax rate is the highest in the Midwest.

The Civic Federation’s budget plan repeats old mistakes with multibillion-dollar tax hikes and no serious, structural reform.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle grow more and more powerful as the size of state and local government increases.

Lawmakers need to look at the state’s major spending drivers instead of increasing taxes, which will continue to drive more people out of the state.

The proposal would be part of the Senate’s “grand bargain,” which also includes a multibillion-dollar income tax hike.