In his annual budget address, Mayor Rahm Emanuel provided an optimistic outlook on city finances, but no major reforms to give taxpayers reason to smile.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel wants to add another layer to the city’s plastic bag ban – a 7-cent tax – despite the ban’s unintended, harmful consequences.

Proposed water and sewer tax hikes hit struggling city residents the hardest.

Under a taxpayer bill of rights, Chicago City Council would have to seek voter approval before raising taxes.

Chicago’s pension funds’ debt grew by two-thirds to $34 billion in 2015. That’s $33,000 of pension debt per Chicago household.

A law passed by the Illinois General Assembly in June allows Chicago to create new transit-based super TIFs, adding more opportunities for city-run slush funds to divert and hoard property-tax dollars.

A new Chicago financial report shows the city’s total unfunded liabilities have jumped by over $17 billion, growing to nearly $24 billion in 2015 from $6.5 billion in 2014.