Mayor Brandon Johnson’s 2026 budget targets social media, corporate “head tax”

By Dylan Sharkey

10/16/2025

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s 2026 budget proposal includes a per-user tax on social media companies and a per-employee fee on businesses. The proposal does not include a property tax hike and supports the elimination of the grocery tax.

TAGS: Brandon Johnson, Chicago

Unused office space could mean more Chicago housing

By LyLena Estabine

10/16/2025

New York City has seen success in converting office space into residences. Chicago should do the same.

TAGS: affordable housing

Massive property tax hikes hurt Chicago’s low-income families

By LyLena Estabine

10/16/2025

Chicago homeowners on the South and West Sides are bracing for huge property tax hikes, driven by surging assessments and government spending tied to pensions.

TAGS: property taxes

DoorDash, Uber, Ticketmaster and toll road hikes: $1.5 billion in potential taxes explained

By Ravi Mishra

10/15/2025

Prices for DoorDash, Uber, Ticketmaster and Illinois tolls might go up now to cover $1.5 billion for Illinois transit agencies. A real estate transfer tax for homes in the Chicago suburbs is also on the table.

Vallas: How to improve Chicago’s billion-dollar transit crisis

By Paul Vallas

10/15/2025

Chicago Transit Authority ridership is still below pre-pandemic levels. Crime and a budget shortfall make matters worse, but there are cost-effective ways to make it safer.

TAGS: CTA: Chicago Transit Authority

Stacy Davis Gates makes over $273,000 but doesn’t pay her water bills

By Mailee Smith

10/15/2025

The Chicago Teachers Union president demands the “wealthy” pay their fair share but doesn’t apply that same principle to herself.

TAGS: CTU: Chicago Teachers Union

CTA violent crime nears decade high as feds threaten funding cuts

By Patrick Andriesen

10/14/2025

Chicago Transit Authority violent crime hit its second-highest level since 2015, while the arrest rate dropped. CTA crime is threatening federal funding.

TAGS: CTA: Chicago Transit Authority

Illinois checks, balances? Not under Pritzker

By Lilly Rossi

10/13/2025

As veto session begins and power goes back to the Democratic majority state legislature, the consequences of a single-party state are more evident than ever.

TAGS: JB Pritzker

Fines per Chicagoan more than triples since 1996 to prop up city budget

By Patrick Andriesen

10/13/2025

Chicago’s 2025 budget needed $345 million in fines, forfeitures and penalties. It was $99 million 30 years ago. What will the new budget extract from residents?

TAGS: budget, Chicago

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

By Ravi Mishra, Lauren Zuar

10/13/2025

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.

Chicago

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s 2026 budget targets social media, corporate “head tax”

Unused office space could mean more Chicago housing

Massive property tax hikes hurt Chicago’s low-income families

DoorDash, Uber, Ticketmaster and toll road hikes: $1.5 billion in potential taxes explained

Vallas: How to improve Chicago’s billion-dollar transit crisis

Stacy Davis Gates makes over $273,000 but doesn’t pay her water bills

CTA violent crime nears decade high as feds threaten funding cuts

Illinois checks, balances? Not under Pritzker

Fines per Chicagoan more than triples since 1996 to prop up city budget

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

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