Transportation spending shows ‘fair tax’ ripe for waste

By Ben Szalinski

09/15/2020

Politicians pledged to rebuild decaying roads and bridges if taxpayers paid just a little bit more, but too often the funds were misused and the promises meant little.

TAGS: fair tax, gas tax, JB Pritzker, waste

Illinois drivers surrounded by states with lower gas tax rates

By Ben Szalinski

08/05/2020

Illinois doubled the gas tax in 2019, which pushed it to No. 3 in the nation for highest average gas tax.

TAGS: gas tax, tax hikes

Automatic state worker pay hikes, gas tax hike coming to Illinois July 1

By Brad Weisenstein

06/25/2020

How fair is it that some of the highest-paid state employees in the nation are getting a raise that must be funded by an economically wounded bunch of taxpayers?

TAGS: COVID-19, gas tax, government unions, lawmaker pay, unemployment

Illinois gas tax set for automatic increase July 1

By Ben Szalinski

06/15/2020

State lawmakers last summer doubled Illinois’ gas tax to help pay for capital projects. Each year the gas tax automatically rises, shielding lawmakers from responsibility for hikes.

TAGS: capital plan, gas tax, JB Pritzker, Martin Sandoval

Gas taxes nearly equal to cost of gas in Illinois

By Brad Weisenstein

04/23/2020

Illinois’ taxes and fees on gasoline keep the pump price high, even when oil producers are paying for someone to take excess crude. The state gas tax is set to rise again in July.

TAGS: Chicago, coronavirus, COVID-19, gas tax, JB Pritzker

Bill banning Illinoisans from pumping their own gas dies in General Assembly

By Vincent Caruso

02/19/2020

After listening to voter feedback, an Illinois lawmaker tabled a bill that would have only allowed gas station clerks to pump gas in Illinois.

TAGS: gas station, Gas Station Attendant Act, gas tax

House bill would ban Illinois drivers from pumping their own gas

By Austin Berg

02/10/2020

The Gas Station Attendant Act would make Illinois one of only two states nationwide that bar all drivers from self-service at gas stations.

TAGS: Camille Lilly, DMV: Department of Motor Vehicles, fair tax, Gas Station Attendant Act, gas tax, graduated income tax, New Jersey, trade-in tax, vehicle registration

Feds indict champion of Illinois gas tax hike, ‘fair tax’ on tax fraud and bribery

By Vincent Caruso

01/27/2020

The former chair of the influential Senate Transportation Committee is the fourth Illinois politician indicted on federal charges amid a sweeping FBI probe.

TAGS: bribery, Chicago, conflict of interest, corruption, Ed Burke, embezzlement, ethics, fair maps, fair tax, FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigation, federal, federal government, federal investigation, fraud, gas tax, graduated income tax, graduation rate, house rules, IDOT: Illinois Department of Transportation, ILGA: Illinois General Assembly, Illinois, IRS: Internal Revenue Service, JB Pritzker, Legislative Inspector General, Luis Arroyo, Martin Sandoval, Mike Madigan, pork barrel spending, progressive income tax, red light cameras, redistricting, revolving door, SafeSpeed, Senate Transportation Committee, Smart Scale, Springfield, tax fraud, transparency, waste, watchdog

2019 laws in review, Illinois lawmakers passed both nice and naughty bills

By Mindy Ruckman

12/20/2019

The Illinois General Assembly passed over 600 new laws in 2019. Some helped taxpayers, but many more hurt as they spent $85 billion while doing little to fix the pension crisis.

TAGS: AFSCME: American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, capital plan, consolidation, Cook County, corruption, expungement, free speech, gas tax, government unions, ILGA: Illinois General Assembly, Illinois, Illinois Constitution, JB Pritzker, lawmakers, Luis Arroyo, Martin Sandoval, Open Illinois Checkbook, progressive income tax, record sealing, Springfield, tax hikes, taxes, transparency, vehicle registration

Will County board approves new $12M gas tax atop doubled state tax

By Vincent Caruso

12/20/2019

Will County became the first county to use new taxing authority under Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s capital plan, adding a new countywide gas tax of 4 cents per gallon atop state and local gas taxes.

TAGS: capital plan, collar counties, DuPage County, excise tax, gas tax, ILGA: Illinois General Assembly, Illinois, JB Pritzker, Joliet, Kane County, Lake County, McHenry County, sales tax, Springfield, tax hikes, tax increase, Will County

Pension apocalypse? COVID-19 exposes long-running fragility of Illinois public pensions

Illinois’ pension crisis has been a growing problem for decades, and its negative effects on state residents are well documented.1 Economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and related government shutdown orders threaten to bring that long-running crisis closer to its breaking point. The state’s five pension systems collectively held nearly $139 billion of debt at...

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Pension apocalypse? COVID-19 exposes long-running fragility of Illinois public pensions

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Joanne Troesch

Policy lessons from Illinois’ exodus of people and money

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