The average American will spend around $800 on gifts this Christmas. But making those holiday buys in Illinois will leave many families wishing they could get more bang for their buck.

Cellphone taxes increased nationwide – and Illinois moved up to be the top taxer. Add another $157 in tax on Chicagoans’ wireless bills.

Illinois' current patchwork of sales tax exemptions, oftentimes carved out by special interests, makes for poor policy.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is reportedly gunning for a transportation bill that could come with an increase in the gas tax.

Voters decided Sangamon County school building improvements were worth boosting Springfield’s sales tax to among the highest in the nation. The 1 percent sales tax hike will take the total to 10.75 percent at some stores.

A proposed 1 percent sales tax would have increased the village of Barrington’s sales tax burden to among the highest in the nation.

As a result of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair Inc., most online purchases in Illinois will now be subject to automatic collection of the state’s 6.25 percent use tax.

A proposed 1 percent sales tax for school facilities improvements would bring the city of Springfield’s combined sales tax rate to 9.75 percent – among the highest in the nation.

A new sales tax proposed by Will County school districts would put some residents’ sales tax burden in a league with Chicago, which is home to the highest combined sales tax rate of any major city in the U.S.