In what’s likely to be a chain of credit downgrades for some of Chicago’s sister governments, Moody’s Investors Services cut the city of Chicago’s credit rating to Baa1 from A3. That downgrade follows the rare triple-notch downgrade the city received last year from Moody’s as a result of the city’s growing and out-of-control pension debt. Excluding Detroit,...

The same group that rates Illinois’ state bonds as the worst in the nation recently reported that Illinois’ pension shortfall jumped by $53 billion in fiscal year 2012. Moody’s Investors Service said the funding shortfall of the state’s five pension systems – covering state workers, university employees, judges, legislators and teachers outside Chicago – now...

Income taxes will arguably be one of the most contentious issues during the current legislative session. And rightly so. Under current law, all Illinois families and businesses will receive tax relief in 2015. That’s because the state’s personal income tax is slated to drop to 3.75 percent from 5 percent, and the corporate income tax...