Boeing

Southwestern Illinois taxpayers hand airport $160M to keep it open

By Brad Weisenstein
09/05/2025
MidAmerica St. Louis Airport has been a drain on taxpayers since it opened in 1995, requiring money from other county funds to keep it open. That total jumped last year to $14.83 million, bringing total subsidies since 2002 to $160 million.

Chicago businesses fall to 10-year low, Mag Mile down by half

By Patrick Andriesen, Jon Josko
08/20/2025
Chicago had 44,840 licensed businesses operating in the city last year, fewer than any year in the past decade and 17% less than during 2015. The Magnificent Mile reported the largest drop, with active business licenses falling by over half.

26 tax ideas Chicago’s mayor is thinking about imposing

By Ravi Mishra
08/11/2025
A $1.12 billion budget gap spurs Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson to circulate a menu of 26 tax hikes. Instead of making Chicago even more hostile to taxpayers, he should be looking at budget reforms and ways to stop spending so much.

Getting ahead is hard for low-income Illinoisans

By Chris Coffey
03/21/2025
Opportunity stalls in Illinois as the state lags other Midwestern states on four key indicators of social mobility. The state trails the rest of the region on entrepreneurship, economic growth, institutions and the rule of law.