By continuing practices such as automatic raises and taxpayer-subsidized platinum health insurance, along with a new $2,500 bonus, the AFSCME contract will transfer more than $3.6 billion in additional compensation from taxpayers to state workers.
The Illinois General Assembly and governor devised 20 different ways to take more money from taxpayers to finance spending on government operations and infrastructure.
Contrary to claims from both Republicans and Democrats, and despite raising nearly $1.1 billion in new taxes and fees for operations, the fiscal year 2020 budget is out of balance by between $574 million and $1.3 billion.
A $1 cigarette tax hike included in Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s infrastructure plan will make Illinois’ tax on cigarette packs among the highest in the nation.