In an effort to shore up pension debt, Chicago officials in 2014 adopted a pension-reform package that included raising the telephone tax. Though the Illinois Supreme Court struck down these changes, the tax hike remains.
While the mayor is right to say that expanding the downtown development area is a “win-win” for developers and poor communities, expanding downtown without the mayor’s proposed new tax on developers and inflexible size restrictions would be a bigger win for both.
While gas prices have dropped to a 12-year low in Illinois, Chicagoans pay $0.32 more per gallon than the state average due to multiple layers of city, county and state taxation.
Instead of spending reform and policies to promote economic growth, Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan proposes the same high-taxing, big-spending plans that got Illinois into its current fiscal mess.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s proposed 2 percent tax and new regulations would harm Chicagoans trying to make ends meet by renting out space in their homes, as well as tourists looking for less expensive lodging.
The “gift room” scandal, a botched police raid and a smokestack implosion underscore how the head of Chicago’s Law Department, also known as the corporation counsel, too often lacks independence from the mayor’s office. Chicago’s corporation counsel is appointed by the mayor and can be removed at the mayor’s discretion. Experience in other major cities...