Tax on Uber, Lyft rides in downtown Chicago set to triple Jan. 1

By Vincent Caruso

12/09/2019

Chicagoans will pay higher taxes on rideshare trips in 2020 as part of Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s first budget.

TAGS: budget, cabs, Chicago, Chicago Department of Transportation, congestion tax, CTA: Chicago Transit Authority, downtown, fees, Illinois Constitution, lyft, outmigration, pension reform, population, ride-sharing, taxis, transportation, Uber

Illinois lawmakers should hold Pritzker to his ‘fair maps’ promise

By Austin Berg

12/03/2019

Even without a constitutional amendment, there are changes lawmakers could make as soon as session resumes to get politics out of mapmaking.

TAGS: amendment, bipartisan, commission, ethics, gerrymandering, Illinois, Illinois Constitution, Illinois General Assembly, Illinois House of Representatives, Illinois Senate, JB Pritzker, lawmakers, legislative district, legislative map, lobbyists, nepotism, redistricting, reform, Springfield, task force, uncontested

As nation celebrates small businesses, Illinois considers taxing them more

By Orphe Divounguy, Bryce Hill

11/27/2019

Most new jobs in Illinois are created by small businesses, yet state leaders are asking voters to hurt them by raising taxes on these employment dynamos.

TAGS: BLS: Bureau of Labor Statistics, business climate, C-corp, capital, capital investment, entrepreneurs, Great Recession, Illinois, Illinois Constitution, investment, JB Pritzker, job creation, jobs growth, levy, mom and pop, neighboring states, over-regulation, pension reform, progressive income tax, recovery, regulation, S-corp, small business, small business saturday, spending cap, tax climate, taxes, tennessee, Texas, wages

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, amendment, 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, pension debt, pension reform, pensions, progressive income tax, Rahm Emanuel, sales tax, tax foundation, taxes, telecom, wireless tax

What Illinoisans need to know about the progressive income tax

By Orphe Divounguy, Bryce Hill

08/27/2019

Gov. J.B. Pritzker calls his $3.4 billion income tax hike a “fair tax.” But opponents have criticized the constitutional amendment as a blank check for House Speaker Mike Madigan and other state lawmakers, courtesy of Illinois taxpayers.

TAGS: fair tax, graduated income tax, Illinois Constitution, income tax, JB Pritzker, municipal pensions, pension guarantee, pensions, progressive income tax, property taxes, taxes

Pension reform for Illinois is essential, not impossible

By Adam Schuster

08/24/2018

Pension reform is a moral imperative. The alternative is a future in which core services are cut, taxes are raised, and pensioners risk losing what they’ve already been promised as the funds go insolvent.

TAGS: GARS: General Assembly Retirement System, Illinois Constitution, municipal pensions, pensions, property taxes, TRS: Teachers’ Retirement System

Senate President John Cullerton says Illinois doesn’t need a revenue estimate

By Adam Schuster

05/09/2018

Agreeing on how much money one has to spend is a basic first step of budgeting.

TAGS: balanced budget requirement, budget, COGFA: Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, GOMB, Illinois Constitution, John Cullerton

Unbalanced Budget Response Act would allow Rauner to make cuts to balance the budget

By Amy Korte

03/28/2017

Illinois House Bill 3868 would give Gov. Bruce Rauner the authority to trim costs and reorder the state’s spending priorities to balance the budget.

TAGS: balanced budget requirement, Bruce Rauner, budget, DCEO, debt, Fitch Ratings, Illinois Constitution, Illinois General Assembly, Jim Durkin, Mike Madigan, Spending, unpaid bills

“Lockbox” amendment will decide how transportation funds can be spent

By Heather Weiner

10/06/2016

Voters will have the opportunity in November to decide, by way of a constitutional amendment, whether lawmakers should be able to divert transportation funds toward other priorities.

TAGS: Illinois Constitution

Rauner’s proposed bill would give the governor the ability to balance the state’s budget

By Jacob Huebert

03/16/2016

In light of the Illinois General Assembly’s refusal to pass a balanced budget, the Unbalanced Budget Response Act is a prudent measure that would temporarily allow the governor to shift funds and reduce spending to balance the state’s budget.

TAGS: Bruce Rauner, budget, Illinois Constitution

Power in payments: Illinois can help unbanked residents, save money by adopting best practices in payment methods

Each year, tens of billions of dollars flow through Illinois state government.1 These flows all depend on methods of payment. In deciding on those payment methods, policymakers must consider a number of important factors, including security controls, cost effectiveness, accessibility, speed and allowance for choice. This report shows that by adopting best practices across all...

View Report

Power in payments: Illinois can help unbanked residents, save money by adopting best practices in payment methods

Report Archive

Ifeoma Nkemdi

Policy lessons from Illinois’ exodus of people and money

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