Lightfoot abandons gas tax cut for gas, transit card lottery

By Patrick Andriesen

04/01/2022

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot will raffle gas and mass transit cards instead of cutting her new 3-cent gas tax. The shift follows aldermen questioning how much a gas tax cut would cost the city.

TAGS: Chicago, gas prices, Lori Lightfoot

Metra ridership down 97% from COVID-19

05/26/2020

Very few people have been commuting to work since Illinois’ stay-at-home order began at the end of March, which could mean tax and fare troubles are ahead for Chicago’s mass transit.

TAGS: coronavirus, COVID-19, Metra

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: bonds, budget, 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, homelessness, housing market, ILGA: Illinois General Assembly, interest rates, library, Lori Lightfoot, Lyft, property taxes, Rahm Emanuel, real estate, real estate transfer tax, tax hikes, tax increase, TIF: Tax Increment Financing, Uber

Architect of Illinois gas tax hike accused of ‘racketeering conspiracy’

By Vincent Caruso

10/01/2019

The lawmaker who carried to the governor’s desk an infrastructure plan that doubled the state’s gas tax used his influence as a powerful state lawmaker to land his son a government job, a lawsuit alleges.

TAGS: FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Martin Sandoval, patronage, RTA: Regional Transportation Authority

Illinois can spend another $10B on infrastructure without tax hikes

By Adam Schuster

05/15/2019

Illinois can do it the old way and raise taxes to deliver pork projects. Or Illinois can be smart and make each tax dollar work hard to deliver projects that help residents and the economy.

Gas tax hike may be around the corner for Gov.-elect JB Pritzker

By Austin Berg

11/08/2018

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is reportedly gunning for a transportation bill that could come with an increase in the gas tax.

TAGS: gas tax, JB Pritzker, sales tax, VMT: vehicle miles traveled

Fare hikes on the way for Chicago train, bus passengers

By Vincent Caruso

11/24/2017

The Chicago Transit Authority’s latest budget proposal includes 25-cent fare hikes.

TAGS: Chicago, CTA: Chicago Transit Authority, Rahm Emanuel, RTA: Regional Transportation Authority

Metra proposes fare hikes for 4th consecutive year

By Brendan Bakala

09/14/2017

Blaming Illinois state budget cuts, Metra considers raising fares in 2018, despite previous fare schedule.

TAGS: fees, Metra, RTA: Regional Transportation Authority

Each Chicago household on the hook for $82K in local government debt

By Ted Dabrowski, John Klingner

09/11/2017

After a tax hike spree from Chicago-area politicians, residents are stuck paying more only to carry an ever-larger load of debt.

TAGS: Chicago, debt, municipal pensions, pensions, property taxes, Rahm Emanuel

Rauner issues amendatory veto of banker bailout bill

08/29/2017

House Bill 3004 would have put banks and bondholders ahead of taxpayers and those who rely on government services. But Gov. Bruce Rauner’s amendatory veto strips the bill of those bailout provisions.

TAGS: bonds, Bruce Rauner, CTA: Chicago Transit Authority, debt, ILGA: Illinois General Assembly, RTA: Regional Transportation Authority

Chicago Transit Authority

Lightfoot abandons gas tax cut for gas, transit card lottery

Metra ridership down 97% from COVID-19

Chicago’s 2020 budget proposal was never truly balanced

Architect of Illinois gas tax hike accused of ‘racketeering conspiracy’

Illinois can spend another $10B on infrastructure without tax hikes

Gas tax hike may be around the corner for Gov.-elect JB Pritzker

Fare hikes on the way for Chicago train, bus passengers

Metra proposes fare hikes for 4th consecutive year

Each Chicago household on the hook for $82K in local government debt

Rauner issues amendatory veto of banker bailout bill

4 ways to break out of Illinois’ pension trap

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