Sangamon County billed homeowners $215 million in 2017. This meant owners of a $127,000 Springfield home had a $2,600 property tax bill.

The state has chosen to coddle some big businesses while punishing the small.

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.

A potential 2 percent dine-in tax imposed on Springfield restaurants has yet to be introduced, but the idea - which other towns have tried - is not a welcome one.

Illinoisans shoulder some of the highest property taxes in the country. This burden is key to understanding the state's outmigration problem. Despite the failure of lawmakers to reverse this crisis, there remain a number of sound reforms waiting for consideration.

Illinois is broke. But leaders don’t act like it.

Illinois will not diverge from its path of poor growth until lawmakers realize the failures of recent tax hikes.