Government corruption is nothing new for Illinoisans. Illinois is the second-most corrupt state in the nation, according to research by the University of Illinois-Chicago. And corruption costs the state economy more than $550 million per year. What is new? Powerful Illinois lawmakers, Chicago aldermen, local mayors and business interests are involved in what appears to be...
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot wants state lawmakers to let her impose progressively higher real estate transfer tax rates to close a $838 million budget deficit. She faces a limited time window and resistance from state lawmakers.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker just bumped up funding for road construction to a non-existent airport to $205.5 million, paid in part with his doubled gas tax. The airport remains a distant idea, but the road will soon be concrete.
The Chicago Teachers Union went on strike despite an offer that would boost average pay to nearly $100,000. Here’s who is getting hurt and the true costs of the strike.
The mayor proposed tripling ride-sharing taxes and fees on solo passengers downtown, on top of other increases, as the city confronts a nearly $1 billion budget deficit and a costly contract dispute with the nation’s third-largest teachers’ union.
Funding for a third Chicagoland airport was included in the latest state budget. The controversial plan brings a risk for more corruption and overspending that will cost taxpayers millions.
Chicago’s $1.15 billion projected budget gap is the latest in a decades-long string of structural deficits. Making Chicago’s high taxes worse is not the solution.