Illinois lawmakers are considering new rules for buying and selling tickets to sporting events and concerts, including a cap on resale prices and fees.
There’s another push in Springfield to tax motorists by the mile. Illinoisans already pay the second-highest gas taxes in the nation behind only California.
A new bill in Springfield would require the Chicago Bears and other teams to have a few winning seasons before they can expect taxpayer help for stadiums.
Legislation in the Illinois House would empower inspectors general, restrict lobbying by elected leaders, add protections against conflicts of interest and end last-minute amendments to legislation.
While Illinois’ total population grew slightly last year, many areas of the state experienced population decline. People moved out of state from half the counties.
Without careful evaluation of whether Illinois’ pensions for newer employees are running afoul of federal rules or what the penalties would be, spending $78 million from the state’s budget is premature and wasteful.
Illinois companies announced 1,666 mass layoffs in February, with more than 4-in-5 impacting workers in Cook County. Schaumburg alone accounted for one-third of job losses.
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.