Two areas of Illinois faced the same COVID-19 threat but received very different treatment from the governor. One is home to a political power base he needs to pass his progressive income tax in November.
State lawmakers last summer doubled Illinois’ gas tax to help pay for capital projects. Each year the gas tax automatically rises, shielding lawmakers from responsibility for hikes.
Despite Gov. J.B. Pritzker touting growth in “every major region,” Illinois shed jobs in three metropolitan areas and lagged the national average in seven more.
Many Illinois municipalities have voted to ban or restrict marijuana sales when it becomes legal for sale. Here’s a list of where pot will, won’t and might be legally bought.
Illinoisans already pay some of the highest taxes in the country at the pump. But a political problem for Gov. J.B. Pritzker could mean they’ll pay even more.
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.