Chicago’s 2020 budget proposal was never truly balanced By 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: bonds, budget, 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, homelessness, housing market, ILGA: Illinois General Assembly, interest rates, library, Lori Lightfoot, Lyft, property taxes, Rahm Emanuel, real estate, real estate transfer tax, tax hikes, tax increase, TIF: Tax Increment Financing, Uber
Illinois cellphone taxes are highest in nation, average $374 a year By Brad Weisenstein 11/18/2019 Taxes alone hike the average Illinois cellphone bill by 31%. TAGS: 911 fee, 911 tax, cell phone tax, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Chicago, Connecticut, constitutional amendment, emergency fee, excise tax, exit tax, Illinois, Illinois Constitution, JB Pritzker, Lori Lightfoot, middle class, municipal pensions, pensions, progressive income tax, Rahm Emanuel, sales tax, taxes, wireless tax