Chicagoans will pay higher taxes on rideshare trips in 2020 as part of Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s first budget.

Faced with the impossible task of balancing Chicago’s budget without pension reform, Mayor Lori Lightfoot is forced to partially rely on phantom cuts and revenues.

The mayor proposed tripling ride-sharing taxes and fees on solo passengers downtown, on top of other increases, as the city confronts a nearly $1 billion budget deficit and a costly contract dispute with the nation’s third-largest teachers’ union.

Between the push for a graduated income tax, his budget address and newly released capital plan, Gov. J.B. Pritzker has proposed an onslaught of backdoor tax hikes on all Illinoisans.

The upward march of Illinois’ core cost drivers – pensions and government worker health insurance – cannot be paid for by tax hikes on small groups. Without reform, tax hike proposals on all Illinoisans will continue flowing from the Statehouse.

Illinois stands above its peers when it comes to taxing residents. But Chicago makes it really something to behold when visitors see that famous skyline with all its tall taxes.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office is using a major capital bill as a vehicle to grease lawmakers for a progressive income tax amendment. But the tax hikes to pay for it would make Illinoisans’ gas tax burden the second highest in the nation.

Amazon pulled its HQ2 out of New York City, so Chicago is considering imposing a “robot tax” on companies looking to automate their way around high labor costs.

Senate lawmakers overrode Gov. Rauner’s veto of a lobbyist-backed bill aiming to sideswipe car-sharing startups with new taxes and regulations. The bill returns to the House.