Illinois residents are denied the legal celebration of at least one freedom on July 4, but take their fireworks dollars to every border state to ignore the law.
Protesters on July 1 greeted the doubled gasoline tax in Illinois. They warned that the 19-cent hike will hurt businesses near the state line, and poor people all across the state.
Property tax increases cannot be capped without addressing the costs driving high property taxes. Some lawmakers are ignoring that to draw support for Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s progressive tax.
Starting today, the state’s tax on motor fuel will double from 19 cents to 38 cents per gallon. The hike pushes Illinois from 10th to No. 3 in the nation for high gas taxes.
This is the first anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling government employees cannot be forced to pay a union. In that year, about 20,000 workers from just three of Illinois’ public-sector unions have said “no” to union membership.
Illinois’ tax code stands in the way of the state’s economic competitiveness. The combination of high tax burdens and a poor tax structure contributes to the loss of jobs and investment to other states. From a place of former economic dominance, Illinois now ranks 45th in gross state product (GSP) growth over the past decade...