Even after a 32 percent income tax hike, the Illinois General Assembly passed a state budget in 2017 that will generate an estimated $1.5 billion deficit in fiscal year 2018. That deficit is projected to grow to $2.15 billion in fiscal year 2019, according to the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget, or GOMB. The...
A number of state and local lawmakers in Illinois practice property tax appeals litigation. But a pair of bills recently filed in the General Assembly would end their ability to benefit at the expense of taxpayers.
Government worker unions can use their members' dues in any number of ways. The most recent federal filings of one of Illinois' largest teachers unions reveal millions of dollars directed disproportionately to Chicago and to political causes with which their members may disagree.
An order currently under consideration by Chicago City Council challenges the assessments of seven properties, four of which have been the subject of property tax appeals by the law firms of Chicago Alderman Ed Burke or Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan.