By Dylan Sharkey
05/23/2022
FBI recordings revealed new details about indicted former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and his scheme to exchange political favors for patronage appointments. He made a joke out of it.
TAGS: corruption, Mike Madigan
By Brian Costin
08/09/2014
The bad news keeps piling up for Illinoisans. Illinois Policy’s “corruption watch” blog series hit a new high in the month of July with nearly 100 corruption-related stories. Chicago and Springfield are the two cities most synonymous with the state’s corruption woes. Unsurprisingly, both cities dominated headlines with the top two corruption stories of the...
Unfortunately for taxpayers, June was a groundbreaking month for corruption in Illinois. In June alone, there were reports of 85 corruption-related stories in the state. Some of the record-breaking highlights include the following: For the first time in 33 years, the Illinois Legislative Audit Commission exercised its subpoena powers in the issuance of a subpoena...
By Benjamin VanMetre
09/17/2013
Illinois spending is packed with waste. Nearly 200 examples of wasteful government spending in Illinois, totaling more than $354 million, is detailed in the “The 2012 Illinois Piglet Book,” a report compiled by the Illinois Policy Institute in a partnership with Washington, D.C.-based Citizens Against Government Waste. Each item highlights the decisions of politicians who...
By Brian Costin
05/17/2013
Maybe you haven’t heard yet, but city of Chicago leaders have unveiled a plan to fund a new stadium for DePaul University – a private school. You may also not have heard of Chicago’s Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, or McPier, but chances are if you have ever been to Chicago you’ve probably paid taxes...
By Benjamin VanMetre
12/11/2012
Ready for a weekend of entertainment? Start by cruising around a shopping festival on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile. Then get some exercise on the eco-friendly, customized ziplines built by Shawnee Bluffs Canopy Tour Inc. in Williamson County. If that’s not enough, hit the wrestling matches at the Dual Meet Nationals in Springfield. Won’t be able to...
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 Brian Costin A recent Chicago Reader article highlights confusion among Chicago’s restaurants in regards to the recent Cook County sales tax reduction, and a myriad of different taxing districts within the city. Every retail establishment in Chicago must collect and turn over to the Illinois Department of Revenue a 9.75 percent “retailers’ occupation tax”—or sales tax. This...
by Brian Costin In a bit of good news the arrival of July 1st, 2010 marked a drop in the Cook County sales tax rate. The Cook County portion of the sales tax (1.75%) dropped ½ a percentage point to 1.25%. This means for a $100 purchase of goods the average consumer will save 50 cents. Unfortunately, Chicago...
A report from the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform found that taxpayers paid lobbyists nearly $6.4 million to influence their own state government last year.
