Springfield lawmakers have yet to learn the lesson that money walks. And it’s not just to other states. Sometimes, it walks past the legal dispensary with a 40% tax rate and into a dealer’s house.
Silence on a rape and about ghost workers were evidence of political loyalty that should save a state worker facing discipline, according to an email uncovered in an open records request.
Traffic cameras collected more than $1 billion from drivers since 2008, but corruption probes are prompting state comptroller to stop acting as ticket collection agency.
New data shows Illinois since 2010 lost up to $32 billion in income from people moving out. Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s graduated income tax plan would hike rates on residents most likely to leave the state, on net.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker appointed a former state lawmaker to his panel on ethics and lobbying. Trouble was, the lawmaker had recently worked as a lobbyist.
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.
Chicago’s second round of anti-corruption rules restricts aldermen and city employees from working as lobbyists and stops other elected leaders from lobbying city government for private clients.
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.
Chicago’s $1.15 billion projected budget gap is the latest in a decades-long string of structural deficits. Making Chicago’s high taxes worse is not the solution.