Rahm’s budget plan phases in $2.5 billion in new taxes and fees over 4 years

By Ted Dabrowski, John Klingner

09/22/2015

Too bad it doesn’t solve any real problems.

TAGS: Chicago, property taxes, Rahm Emanuel, sales tax

5 things to know about Illinois’ unsustainable municipal pension fund

By Ted Dabrowski, John Klingner

09/22/2015

Illinois taxpayers are forced – by law – to pay for local-government pensions above all else.

TAGS: IMRF: Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund, property taxes

Rahm calls for largest property tax hike in modern Chicago history

By Ted Dabrowski

09/21/2015

Chicagoans know new revenues won’t be used to pay for better roads, classrooms or public safety – these tax hikes won’t even fix what’s ailing the city’s bottom line.

TAGS: Chicago, CPS: Chicago Public Schools, ecigs, fees, Lyft, outmigration, property taxes, Rahm Emanuel, rideshare, Uber

Chicago: 7th most expensive city in the world

By Amy Korte

09/18/2015

Driven by a costly tax burden, Chicago’s high cost of goods and services lands the Windy City in the top 10 for the most expensive 71 cities across the world, according to a new survey by UBS.

TAGS: Chicago, sales tax

Chicago a step closer to lifting ban on food carts

By Hilary Gowins

09/16/2015

Today, the Chicago Committee on License and Consumer Protection voted in favor of an ordinance that would legalize food carts in the city. Now the ordinance moves to the full City Council, which will meet on Sept. 24 for a vote. Chicago is one of the only major U.S. cities that bans food carts; these...

TAGS: Chicago, food carts, street vending

Morton Salt to close Elston Avenue facility in Chicago

By Amy Korte

09/16/2015

Morton Salt will stop operations in October at its warehousing and packaging facility on Elston Avenue in Chicago.

TAGS: Chicago, jobs, manufacturing, Morton Salt, property taxes, workers compensation

Illinois pays millions in pension benefits to the dead

By Austin Berg

09/14/2015

More than 1,000 dead Illinoisans received pension payments from 2010 to 2014, according to government records.

TAGS: fraud, waste

Why Chicago’s ‘Netflix tax’ is illegal

By Jeffrey Schwab

09/11/2015

Chicago’s 9 percent “Netflix tax” is illegal, and the Liberty Justice Center has sued the city to stop collecting it.

TAGS: Chicago, cloud tax, Hulu, Netflix, Rahm Emanuel, Spotify

Chicago’s food-cart ban costs revenue, jobs

By Michael Lucci, Hilary Gowins

09/09/2015

Chicago’s ban on food carts is costing the city jobs and revenue. The city has fallen behind its peers: Street vending from food carts is already legal in 23 of the 25 largest cities in the U.S. The Illinois Policy Institute conducted a survey of nearly 200 Chicago food-cart street vendors to assess the social...

Four factors that created the CPS pension crisis

By Ted Dabrowski

09/08/2015

How Illinois politicians turned what was meant to provide government workers with retirement security into a political slush fund.

TAGS: Chicago, CPS: Chicago Public Schools, Rahm Emanuel

Chicago

Rahm’s budget plan phases in $2.5 billion in new taxes and fees over 4 years

5 things to know about Illinois’ unsustainable municipal pension fund

Rahm calls for largest property tax hike in modern Chicago history

Chicago: 7th most expensive city in the world

Chicago a step closer to lifting ban on food carts

Morton Salt to close Elston Avenue facility in Chicago

Illinois pays millions in pension benefits to the dead

Why Chicago’s ‘Netflix tax’ is illegal

Chicago’s food-cart ban costs revenue, jobs

Four factors that created the CPS pension crisis

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