A recent comprehensive analysis found the real number of government units in Illinois is 30% higher than the U.S. Census Bureau’s count. Too many government units mean too many taxes.
House Bill 7 would create a process to review and recommend consolidating school district administration, with the goal of cutting bureaucracy so the money goes to classrooms or back to taxpayers.
House Bill 433 would make it easier for Illinois taxpayers to dissolve unnecessary units of government in the state with the nation’s highest number of government units.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker approved doubling the state gas tax in 2019 and gave some counties and Chicago the power to hike local gas taxes. Lake County is the latest to consider doing so.
Chicago leaders are using another gas tax hike to help fill a budget hole driven by pensions. Total gas taxes and fees are closing in on $1 per gallon.
All of Illinois will be under tighter restrictions starting Wednesday, with Gov. J.B. Pritzker imposing an indoor dining ban as his answer to the spread of COVID-19.
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.