by Brian Costin Gov. Pat Quinn just hiked my property taxes. And, if you’re younger than 65 years old, he just hiked your property taxes too. But if you attended Quinn’s bill signing ceremony for Senate Bill 1894 you would have seen him championing himself as a fighter against Illinois’ outrageously high property tax rates, as evidenced...

Health nuts and anti-tobacco fanatics, get out your streamers and champagne: Cook County’s new $1 per pack cigarette tax hike goes into effect today. Contrary to the so-called health conscious intentions of this tax’s creators, however, Cook County smokers will continue to buy cigarettes. Lots of them. Last year, Cook County brought in approximately $115 million...

Institute policy expert, Jonathan Ingram, joined Doug Wolfe on WAND TV to discuss Illinois’ addiction to wasteful spending. Check our Piglet 2012 for examples of pork in Illinois. MUSEUM CAPITAL PROJECTS ABRAHAM LINCOLN MEMORIAL GARDEN FOUNDATION, INC. (Sangamon County) – $82,433. Renovation of the Ostermeir Farmhouse to add handicap accessible features, waterproof basement, replace carpet,...

Does the government have any business taxing foods it deems unhealthy? That was the status quo in Denmark until recently, when the country got rid of its controversial fat tax. This nanny-state policy, originally put in place about a year ago, increased taxes on all foods with a saturated fat content of above 2.3 percent. Authorities...

Taxes are about to go up again on many items for Cook County residents under the county’s 2013 budget. The Cook County Board of Commissioners approved a $2.95 billion budget for fiscal year 2013 by a landslide 16-1 vote last week. The budget includes a series of new revenue initiatives– a $1 per pack tax...