New taxes and fees on Illinois driving, vehicles total $1.9B

By Ben Szalinski
12/05/2019
Jan. 1 marks a second wave of taxes aimed at drivers to support an infrastructure package championed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker and shrouded in corruption allegations.

TAGS: capital plan, drivers, driving, gas tax, Illinois, Illinois General Assembly, infrastructure, JB Pritzker, Luis Arroyo, Martin Sandoval, motor fuel tax, parking garages, parking tax, progressive income tax, public works, Rebuild Illinois, Springfield, trade-in tax, vehicle registration

A decade after recession, Illinois’ construction industry is ice cold

By Austin Berg
12/05/2019
Why is Illinois construction so weak? As it turns out, big government programs can’t paper over weak fundamentals.

TAGS: Bureau of Economic Analysis, construction, Erin Guthrie, gas tax, Great Recession, Illinois General Assembly, JB Pritzker, Luis Arroyo, Martin Sandoval, minimum wage, outmigration, Pat Quinn, pension crisis, progressive income tax, property taxes, Springfield, U.S. Census Bureau

Repeal Day: Prohibition ended 86 years ago, but Illinois’ alcohol taxes, regulations remain sobering

By Vincent Caruso
12/05/2019
With the ratification of the 21st Amendment, 1933 marked the end of Prohibition in the United States. Illinois, however, has continued to serve a cocktail of prohibitive regulations on alcoholic beverages.

TAGS: alcohol tax, Associated Beer Distributors of Illinois, bootlegging, brewery, Bruce Rauner, capital plan, Chicago, cocktail, craft beer, distillery, Hospitality Business Association of Chicago, Illinois, Illinois General Assembly, JB Pritzker, licensure, Liquor Control Act, liquor laws, midwest, over-regulation, prohibition, regulation, repeal, Sara Feigenholtz, soda tax, taproom, taxes, Toni Preckwinkle, trade, vape ban, vaping, Wine & Spirits Distributors of Illinois, winery

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

Sandoval resigns Senate seat amid federal corruption probe, effective Jan. 1

By Vincent Caruso
11/27/2019
The once-powerful state officeholder previously resigned as chairman of the influential Illinois Senate Transportation Committee in October.

TAGS: FBI, gas tax, Illinois, Illinois General Assembly, Illinois Senate, JB Pritzker, John Cullerton, Martin Sandoval, McCook, Mike Madigan, red light cameras, SafeSpeed, Senate Transportation Committee, Springfield, Summit, Tom Cullerton, transportation

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

More Illinoisans on food stamps this Thanksgiving, 50K recipients will soon need jobs

By Ben Szalinski
11/26/2019
This Thanksgiving, about 17,500 more Illinoisans will be using food stamps. By New Year’s, about 50,000 Cook County recipients must find jobs or lose benefits.

TAGS: able-bodied, constitutional amendment, Cook County, Donald Trump, DuPage County, fast food, food banks, food stamps, Illinois, JB Pritzker, link card, midwest, pension reform, progressive income tax, recovery, SNAP, social services, Thanksgiving

Illinois is No. 3 for most state regulations, report finds

By Ben Szalinski
11/21/2019
A new report confirms what many Illinoisans already knew: the state is one of the most heavily regulated in America, with nearly 260,000 state rules.

TAGS: ban, California, Illinois, Illinois General Assembly, Illinois Senate, JB Pritzker, lawmakers, laws, Mercatus Center, over-regulation, prohibition, regulations, Regulatory Sunrise Review Act, report, restrictions, Senate, South Dakota, state government, study, taxes

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

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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...

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Ifeoma Nkemdi

Policy lessons from Illinois’ exodus of people and money

By J. Scott Moody, Wendy Warcholik
07/07/2014

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

By Ted Dabrowski
05/02/2016