While New York lawmakers have agreed to make the state’s 2% temporary limit on property tax levies permanent, Illinois should take reform farther by enacting a freeze on levies and giving local governments the ability to rein in their spending.

While the governor has touted his plan as a way to stabilize state tax revenues, it would actually do the opposite.

“Tobacco 21” was vetoed by the former governor as a burden on stores, but the new governor just made Illinois the 11th state to tell young adults they may not buy tobacco products until they are 21.

Including cash from an imagined Thompson Center sale in state budgets was so common it became a punchline. But Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a law that finally puts the massive state office complex on the market.

Because the governor doesn’t address state and local governments’ ballooning pension costs, the typical Illinois family will continue to see their tax bills rise.

Without reform, Illinois’ pension problem will continue to force tax hikes while crowding out the core services residents need.

Those pushing the bag tax in Illinois may not care much about the body of research on this topic. They’re looking out for a different kind of green. In a scramble for new revenue and an unwillingness to take on any reform on the spending side, the Statehouse has turned to creative ways to nickel-and-dime residents.

Lawmakers in the Illinois House are weighing a bill that would tax streaming and satellite service users “for the privilege to witness, view, or otherwise enjoy the entertainment.”

Illinoisans are among the nation’s most overtaxed residents. A proposed Illinois constitutional amendment would require a two-thirds majority in both chambers before adding to that burden.