Costs for Metra's administrative workers, including managers, lawyers, accountants and IT specialists went up 54 percent over the last five years.

Cities and villages across the state are raising taxes or implementing new ones for a variety of functions, from attracting a fast-food restaurant to catching up on rising pension costs.

Consolidating governments in the collar counties could help lower residents’ high property taxes.

The new taxes are planned to pay for road maintenance and improvement as well as general use. As is the case in communities throughout Illinois, pension costs are crowding out other spending in Oswego.

House Bill 4082 would ban Illinois home rule counties from levying taxes on sweetened drinks by volume sold.

House Bill 418 would prevent retired police officers from double dipping in the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund, which has placed a burden on taxpayers at the local level.

As lawmakers consider massive tax hikes on Illinoisans, they should look to consolidate nearly 7,000 units of local government and to cut their high administrative costs.