Indiana is building far more single-family homes than Illinois

By Austin Berg
01/03/2020
The historic change comes as skyrocketing property tax bills eat into Illinois homeowners’ bottom line.

TAGS: constitutional amendment, home values, homeownership, Illinois, Illinois Constitution, Illinois General Assembly, Indiana, JB Pritzker, pension costs, pension reform, population, population loss, property taxes, single-family home, Springfield, state constitution, tax burden, tax hikes, tax increase, U.S. Census Bureau, working-age

Illinois saw nation’s worst population loss during the decade

By Orphe Divounguy, Bryce Hill
12/30/2019
Illinois suffered its sixth consecutive year of population decline in 2019, driven entirely by residents leaving for other states.

TAGS: 401(k), debt, fiscal, flat tax, general revenue fund, Great Recession, high taxes, Illinois, Illinois Constitution, Illinois General Assembly, JB Pritzker, job creation, jobs growth, labor force, Mike Madigan, outmigration, pension debt, pension reform, population, population loss, revenue, shrink, Springfield, tax burden, tax hikes, tax increase, U.S. Census Bureau, working-age

2019 laws in review, Illinois lawmakers passed both nice and naughty bills

By Mindy Ruckman
12/20/2019
The Illinois General Assembly passed over 600 new laws in 2019. Some helped taxpayers, but many more hurt as they spent $85 billion while doing little to fix the pension crisis.

TAGS: AFSCME: American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, capital plan, consolidation, Cook County, corruption, expungement, free speech, gas tax, government unions, Illinois, Illinois Constitution, Illinois General Assembly, JB Pritzker, lawmakers, Luis Arroyo, Martin Sandoval, Open Illinois Checkbook, progressive income tax, public employee unions, record sealing, Springfield, tax hikes, taxes, transparency, vehicle registration, worker freedom

Will County board approves new $12M gas tax atop doubled state tax

By Vincent Caruso
12/20/2019
Will County became the first county to use new taxing authority under Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s capital plan, adding a new countywide gas tax of 4 cents per gallon atop state and local gas taxes.

TAGS: capital plan, collar counties, drivers, driving, DuPage County, excise tax, gas tax, Illinois, Illinois General Assembly, JB Pritzker, Joliet, Kane County, Lake County, McHenry County, sales tax, Springfield, suburbs, tax hikes, tax increase, Will County

9 new Illinois taxes totaling $1.7B take effect Jan. 1

By Adam Schuster
12/15/2019
Nearly half of the 20 tax and fee hikes passed to support a record $40 billion state budget and $45 billion infrastructure plan hit on New Year’s Day.

TAGS: cannabis, cigarette tax, economy, electric car, electric vehicle, gas tax, graduated income tax, Illinois, Illinois Constitution, Illinois General Assembly, JB Pritzker, license, marijuana, motor fuel tax, net position, net worth, New Year's Day, online sales tax, parking garages, parking tax, pension reform, progressive income tax, registration fee, Spending, spending cap, Springfield, state constitution, tax hikes, tax increase, taxes, trade-in tax, vehicle registration

Senate President John Cullerton set to collect $2M pension

By Austin Berg
11/27/2019
Due to a pension sweetener available only to veteran Illinois lawmakers, Cullerton’s annual pension will soon be more than he ever made from his Statehouse salary.

TAGS: Chicago, Emil Jones, Illinois, Illinois General Assembly, Illinois Senate, John Cullerton, Mike Madigan, pension benefits, pension costs, pension crisis, pension debt, pension reform, retirement, senate president, SERS: State Employee Retirement System, six-figure, Springfield, tax hikes, teacher salaries, TRS: Teachers’ Retirement System

Chicago’s 2020 budget proposal was never truly balanced

By Adam Schuster, Bill Reveille
11/26/2019
Faced with the impossible task of balancing Chicago’s budget without pension reform, Mayor Lori Lightfoot is forced to partially rely on phantom cuts and revenues.

TAGS: 2020 Budget Forecast, bonds, budget, budget gap, CAFR: Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, Chicago, Chicago City Council, chicago city hall, constitutional amendment, CTA: Chicago Transit Authority, CTU: Chicago Teachers Union, deficit, emergency fee, fire pensions, homelessness, housing market, Illinois General Assembly, interest rates, library, Lori Lightfoot, lyft, pension contributions, pension crisis, pension debt, pension obligations, policy pensions, property taxes, public safety pensions, Rahm Emanuel, real estate, real estate transfer tax, surplus, tax hikes, tax increase, TIF: Tax Increment Financing, Uber, vacancies, zero-based budgeting

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Power in payments: Illinois can help unbanked residents, save money by adopting best practices in payment methods

Each year, tens of billions of dollars flow through Illinois state government.1 These flows all depend on methods of payment. In deciding on those payment methods, policymakers must consider a number of important factors, including security controls, cost effectiveness, accessibility, speed and allowance for choice. This report shows that by adopting best practices across all...

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Ifeoma Nkemdi

Policy lessons from Illinois’ exodus of people and money

By J. Scott Moody, Wendy Warcholik
07/07/2014

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

By Ted Dabrowski
05/02/2016