Missouri

Even before record 67 percent tax hike, Illinois has 11th-highest tax burden nationwide

By Ted Dabrowski, John Klingner
10/23/2012
The Tax Foundation has reaffirmed Illinois’ status as a high-tax state in its newly released 2012 Annual State-Local Tax Burden Ranking. Based on the Census Bureau’s 2010 data, the report found that Illinois’ overall tax burden per resident is the 11th highest in the nation. Some highlights from the report include: At 10.2 percent, Illinois has...

The cost of Quinn

By Ted Dabrowski
10/19/2012
Gov. Quinn is not getting great press these days. The Cato Institute recently ranked him the worst governor in the nation. His approval rating stands at just 26 percent. And while Gov. Quinn may choose to ignore those messages, he may want to heed the warnings the financial markets continue to fire his way. Credit agencies have...

Chicago has second highest taxes on meals in restaurants

03/29/2012
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...

ObamaCare makes it harder for the poor to find work

By Chris Andriesen
10/21/2011
by Jonathan Ingram As we reported yesterday, ObamaCare is going to bust Illinois’ budget and hurt the most vulnerable among us. But did you know it’s also going to drastically raise the costs of hiring new workers? ObamaCare requires most employer-sponsored insurance coverage to provide a minimum level of benefits, which ultimately drives the cost of labor...

Is the Nation slowing Illinois’ job growth?

10/21/2011
by Emily Dietrich Is the national economy really at fault for Illinois’ poor jobs market? The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) released the September numbers on Illinois’ jobs market yesterday. The report was titled: “National Slowdown Impacts Illinois’ Economy.” This report comes on the heels of their August report, titled: “Stagnant National Growth Squeezes Illinois Labor Market.”...

Where Are the Jobs? Not in Illinois

By Chris Andriesen
08/23/2011
For most Illinois families, the price of the January 2011 state income tax hike is an additional week’s wages lost to state coffers. But for some, the cost has been much higher as jobs disappear altogether. Between January and June 2011, 56,223 fewer Illinoisans were employed* – a performance worse than any other neighboring state....

Another State Rejects High-Speed Spending

By Chris Andriesen
04/14/2011
by Mark Cavers Bloomberg Business Week reports that legislators in Missouri are moving to reject some federal money to fund work that would speed up rail travel between St. Louis and Kansas City. The mounting concerns over future costs to Missourians echo similar concerns in a host of other states that have rejected federal money. Over...