Red-light cameras take another $500M from Illinois drivers in 5 years

By Patrick Andriesen

05/09/2024

Local governments generated $500 million from red-light camera tickets since 2019, with Chicago alone collecting $223.8 million. Total since 2008: $1.56 billion.

TAGS: red light cameras

Illinois cities take on more debt to cope with pensions

04/14/2022

Pension deficits are causing communities to consider more borrowing – and gambling with the proceeds – as pensions continue to consume bigger shares of budgets.

TAGS: Illinois, local government, pension obligation bonds

2019-2020 Illinois corruption tracker

By Austin Berg

11/11/2019

Government corruption is nothing new for Illinoisans. Illinois is the second-most corrupt state in the nation, according to research by the University of Illinois-Chicago. And corruption costs the state economy more than $550 million per year. What is new? Powerful Illinois lawmakers, Chicago aldermen, local mayors and business interests are involved in what appears to be...

Illinois red-light cameras have collected more than $1B from drivers since 2008

By Austin Berg

10/14/2019

Red-light cameras are taking more and more money from Illinois motorists. But dubious safety benefits, a cloud of corruption and a bipartisan bill in Springfield may combine to take them off the streets.

How Connecticut’s ‘tax on the rich’ ended in middle-class tax hikes, lost jobs and more poverty

By Orphe Divounguy, Bryce Hill, Suman Chattopadhyay

03/04/2019

Rejecting a progressive income tax would spare Illinoisans from Connecticut’s sorry fate.

Schaumburg village manager rakes in 318% more than area’s median households

10/12/2018

The highest-earning government employee in at least five municipalities far outpaces what typical local taxpayers in those areas bring in.

TAGS: budget, property taxes, Schaumburg, taxes, waste

Waste Watch: Nearly $100M of waste in Illinois state and local government

By Adam Schuster, Alec Mena, Travis Nix

10/08/2018

Illinois taxpayers are fed up and overtaxed. Residents have little faith that their governments are spending their tax dollars well – and for good reason. The state’s most recent spending plan is out of balance by as much as $1.5 billion, and includes $54.2 million in wasteful spending and $27 million in pork-barrel spending. The...

More than a third of Illinois’ largest cities shrinking in population

10/03/2017

Twelve of the 29 Illinois cities with over 50,000 in population are losing residents.

TAGS: outmigration, population, U.S. Census Bureau

80% of Cook County municipalities have opted out of minimum wage, sick leave ordinances

By Amy Korte, Marianna Schmiesing

07/31/2017

The number of Cook County municipalities that have opted out of both ordinances has climbed to 107.

TAGS: Cook County, jobs, minimum wage

Chicago only major U.S. city to lose population from 2015 to 2016

By Michael Lucci

05/25/2017

While major headlines broke over news that Chicago was the only one of America’s largest 20 cities to shrink from July 2015 to July 2016, most of Illinois’ other cities with 50,000 people or more also lost population.

TAGS: Berwyn, Champaign, Chicago, Cicero, Decatur, Oak Park, outmigration, Peoria, population, U.S. Census Bureau

Berwyn

Red-light cameras take another $500M from Illinois drivers in 5 years

Illinois cities take on more debt to cope with pensions

2019-2020 Illinois corruption tracker

Illinois red-light cameras have collected more than $1B from drivers since 2008

How Connecticut’s ‘tax on the rich’ ended in middle-class tax hikes, lost jobs and more poverty

Schaumburg village manager rakes in 318% more than area’s median households

Waste Watch: Nearly $100M of waste in Illinois state and local government

More than a third of Illinois’ largest cities shrinking in population

80% of Cook County municipalities have opted out of minimum wage, sick leave ordinances

Chicago only major U.S. city to lose population from 2015 to 2016

FAQ: How the federal scholarship program would help Illinois students

Report Archive

Diana Graham

Process for unionizing non-state workers raises red flags

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