Progressive income tax study guide

By Orphe Divounguy, Adam Schuster, Bryce Hill

08/27/2020

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker calls it the “fair tax.” Opponents say it’s a “blank check” for irresponsible spending. Here’s what you need to know.

TAGS: ballot referendums, California, Connecticut, corporate income tax, fair tax, general election, graduated income tax, ILGA: Illinois General Assembly, Illinois, income tax, JB Pritzker, middle class, outmigration, Springfield

Blame Illinois exodus on jobs, housing, tax policy

By Orphe Divounguy, Bryce Hill

06/25/2020

Census data shows who is fleeing Illinoisans and why. Here’s why you should care.

TAGS: jobs, outmigration, population, tax burden

‘Fair tax’ paves the way to taxing retirement income in Illinois

By Adam Schuster

04/15/2020

By granting broad new taxing authority to Springfield, the progressive income tax amendment makes a retirement income tax much more likely – a fact some supporters have acknowledged publicly.

TAGS: fair tax, outmigration, progressive income tax, retirement tax

Illinois state, local tax burden ranked highest in nation

By Brad Weisenstein

04/14/2020

Illinois residents pay more of their income toward state and local taxes than any other state’s residents. A progressive income tax proposal on the ballot in November would raise the state’s total tax burden by $3.7 billion.

TAGS: outmigration, progressive income tax, tax burden

Every Illinois metro area loses population for second year in a row

By Bryce Hill

03/27/2020

New census data reveals that for a second year, all 10 metro areas based primarily in Illinois experienced population decline.

TAGS: outmigration, population, tax burden, tax hikes, U.S. Census Bureau

Illinois house value growth nation’s 2nd worst in 2019

By Orphe Divounguy, Bryce Hill

03/09/2020

States with the slowest housing appreciation tend to have worse labor markets, higher taxes and more pension debt.

TAGS: home price index, home values, homeownership, housing market, outmigration, population

Why the soda tax ‘worked’ and the progressive tax won’t

By Austin Berg

02/28/2020

There’s no doubt: the county taxed soda more, so people bought less of it. It’s a simple lesson. So why doesn’t Springfield get it?

TAGS: Cook County, home price index, Illinois Constitution, JB Pritzker, outmigration, progressive income tax, property taxes, soda tax, tax burden, Toni Preckwinkle

Illinoisans most likely to move out would see higher taxes under Pritzker plan

By Bryce Hill

02/14/2020

Other states show how a progressive income tax would likely make the Illinois exodus worse, pushing jobs and tax revenue out of Illinois.

TAGS: fair tax, graduated income tax, outmigration

Slowest-growing states have progressive income taxes

By Bryce Hill

02/07/2020

Fewer people want to live in states with progressive income taxes. So after 6 straight years of population loss, why would Illinois want to join them?

TAGS: ballot, ballot referendums, corporate income tax, fair tax, flat tax, graduated income tax, Great Recession, ILGA: Illinois General Assembly, Illinois, Illinois Constitution, income tax, JB Pritzker, outmigration, pensions, population, progressive income tax, recession, spending cap, Springfield, tax burden, tax hikes, tax increase, Tennessee, Texas, U.S. Census Bureau, West Virginia, working-age

State of the state: Pritzker saw worst first-year jobs numbers since Blagojevich

By Orphe Divounguy, Bryce Hill

01/27/2020

Illinois job creation lagged the national median in nearly every sector.

TAGS: 401(k), BLS: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Chicago, constitutional amendment, economic competitiveness, economic growth, fair tax, government spending, graduated income tax, housing, housing market, IDES: Illinois Department of Employment Security, ILGA: Illinois General Assembly, Illinois, Illinois Constitution, income, income growth, JB Pritzker, job creation, jobs, labor, labor force participation rate, outmigration, pensions, personal income, population, private sector, progressive income tax, public sector, retirement age, spending, spending cap, Springfield, tax burden, tax hikes, tax increase, U.S. Census Bureau, unemployment

Pension apocalypse? COVID-19 exposes long-running fragility of Illinois public pensions

Illinois’ pension crisis has been a growing problem for decades, and its negative effects on state residents are well documented.1 Economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and related government shutdown orders threaten to bring that long-running crisis closer to its breaking point. The state’s five pension systems collectively held nearly $139 billion of debt at...

View Report

Pension apocalypse? COVID-19 exposes long-running fragility of Illinois public pensions

Report Archive

Joanne Troesch

Policy lessons from Illinois’ exodus of people and money

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