Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel released today his 2014 plan to close the city’s looming $338.7 million budget gap. His proposal is heavy on tax hikes and short on solutions. The mayor vowed not to close the budget gap with higher property taxes this year. Instead, the plan is to nickel and dime Chicagoans with tax...

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel plans to increase the cigarette tax in Chicago by 75 cents per pack. The tax hike would increase the per-pack total to $7.42 — making Chicago the most expensive city in the nation in which to buy a pack of cigarettes. This tax hike is one of the plans Emanuel is considering to...