Ever notice that going out to eat seems more expensive in Chicago than other cities? One of the reasons is that on top of the very high sales tax in Chicago, there are additional taxes on meals in restaurants: 0.25 percent Chicago restaurant tax and 1.0 percent Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (MPEA) food and...

by Amanda Griffin-Johnson Like many state governments, city and county governments across the country are facing huge unfunded pension liabilities. Recently, researchers from the University of Rochester and Northwestern University found that the average unfunded municipal pension liability per household is about $15,000. Unfortunately, Chicago has the highest per household unfunded pension liability of the 50 cities...