Chicago has seized and sold nearly 50,000 impounded vehicles since 2011, hitching drivers to mounting debts, a recent investigation found. The city’s ticketing laws disproportionately harm low-income residents.

With one proposal to pay off Illinois’ pension debt asking the typical homeowner to pay more than $1,900 in additional property taxes for the next 30 years, the stakes for pension reform have never been clearer.

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.

The office of Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx signed off on a $2 million property tax settlement with the property tax firm headed by Foxx campaign donor Alderman Ed Burke.

As Chicago faces a budget gap approaching $260 million, one alderman suggests more ticketing to close the shortfall.