The proposal would lower all local governments’ property tax levies by 10 percent and then freeze them in Illinois. Any future increase would require voter approval.
Illinois already taxes 20 cents more per gallon of gasoline than Missouri. If state lawmakers add another 30 cents per gallon, expect an exodus of southwestern Illinois drivers buying gas and more in St. Louis.
Frustration over high taxes and government waste in Illinois need more than an angry social media post or a moving van. Some residents of McHenry County, Illinois, acted, and are winning reforms.
In 2018, Springfield handed Illinoisans more of the same repackaged policy failures. Lawmakers in the coming year should tape to their desks this wish list of taxpayer-friendly reforms.
Outgoing Mayor Rahm Emanuel is publicly pushing for a constitutional amendment to the state’s pension clause. Pension reform is the only way to combat rising property taxes and prevent further budget chaos in Illinois state and local governments.
Fitch Ratings has issued a warning about a pension plan pushed by one Illinois think tank, which includes no reform and would harm the state’s credit rating. The response from the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability proves how indefensible the plan really is.