Carbondale

Multibillion-dollar tax hikes will only exacerbate Illinois’ weak economic activity

By Ted Dabrowski, Craig Lesner
04/13/2017
The latest report from the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability shows Illinois experienced falling tax collections, indicating trouble in the state economy. Spending reforms – not tax hikes – are what Illinois needs to right its fiscal ship and boost economic growth.

TAGS: budget, COGFA: Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, Dan McConchie, Kyle McCarter, Moody's Investor Service

Workers’ compensation estimated to cost Illinois taxpayers nearly $1 billion per year

By Michael Lucci
04/05/2017
Workers’ compensation is a significant cost to Illinois taxpayers and drains scarce tax dollars from government coffers. A previous report in this series estimated the direct cost of workers’ compensation to state, county and municipal governments is $402 million in worker payouts per year.1 Building upon those findings, this report estimates that the total cost of workers’ compensation to...

Education finance solutions

By Ted Dabrowski, John Klingner
02/09/2017
Making Illinois’ system fairer through pension reform, consolidation and accountability to parents and students.

Illinois politicians’ remedy for state flirting with recession? Multibillion-dollar tax hikes

By Ted Dabrowski, Craig Lesner
02/08/2017
A new report from the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability shows Illinois has experienced falling tax collections, which may indicate trouble in the state economy; spending reforms – not tax hikes – are what Illinois needs to right its fiscal ship and boost economic growth.

TAGS: AFSCME: American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, Christine Radogno, corporate income tax, income tax, John Cullerton, Medicaid, pensions, property taxes, sales tax, taxes

Illinois Senate proposes income tax hike in the face of record out-migration and wealth flight

By Michael Lucci
01/20/2017
The Illinois Senate’s proposed budget plan would raise the personal income tax rate to at least 4.95 percent with no real reforms to address the state’s skyrocketing debt and unsustainable spending. This proposal comes despite Illinois’ loss of $14 billion in annual income and hundreds of thousands of people in the wake of the 2011 income tax hike.

TAGS: budget, Christine Radogno, income tax, John Cullerton, outmigration, taxes

A sorry state: Illinois’ economy in 2017

By Orphe Divounguy
11/16/2016
Since the end of the recession, only 5 out of Illinois’ 13 metro areas – Carbondale-Marion, Chicago, Kankakee, Lake County-Kenosha County and Springfield – have recovered all the private-sector jobs lost from the Great Recession.

TAGS: economy, jobs, unemployment

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Chicago Forward 2026: A pro-growth plan to end city budget deficits

Chicago’s $1.15 billion projected budget gap is the latest in a decades-long string of structural deficits. Making Chicago’s high taxes worse is not the solution.

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Diana Graham

Process for unionizing non-state workers raises red flags

By Paul Kersey
06/19/2014

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

By Ted Dabrowski
05/02/2016