Illinois' fifth-largest city is moving to raise taxes on telecommunications and hotels, and fold homesharing into the latter.

Under the guise of rehabilitating underserved communities, Chicago City Council approved another tax transfer to a private company.

Alderman Ricardo Munoz's proposal highlights seven expensive properties in or around the Loop that aldermen contend were underassessed, shifting the property tax burden to other property owners.

Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan, Senate President John Cullerton and state Rep. Robert Martwick are all involved in the clout-heavy cottage industry of property tax appeals.

The Cook County assessor may have to pay $41,000 in fines for accepting donations in excess of the limit allowed by Cook County campaign finance rules.

The office of Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx signed off on a $2 million property tax settlement with the property tax firm headed by Foxx campaign donor Alderman Ed Burke.

The village of Lakewood is making encouraging reforms in a county where residents pay some of the highest property taxes in the nation.

One community in northern Illinois’ McHenry County is a case study on the glacial pace of consolidation in a state with the most units of local government – and some of the highest property taxes – in the nation.