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83% of online commenters oppose proposed toll hikes

Posted in Aunt Blabby, Commodius Maximus, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Fat Bastard, IDOT, Illinois Policy Institute, Illinois Tollway, Look For The Union Label, Overhead, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Taxes, The Chicago Way, Unions on August 10, 2026| Leave a Comment »

The Illinois Tollway board could vote as soon as next week on a proposal that would include the largest passenger toll increase in state history.

By Ethan Soifer | Illinois Policy Institute

Public commenters online overwhelmingly oppose the Illinois Tollway’s proposed rate hikes.

Of the nearly 9,000 online responses received from July 12 to 24, approximately 7,500 opposed the proposal, 1,000 supported it, and 500 were neutral. The Illinois Policy Institute obtained the results via a Freedom of Information Act request.

The public comment period has closed, but you can still let the board and Gov. J.B. Pritzker know you oppose the hike here.

 

The tollway board could vote as soon as next week on the largest passenger toll hike in Illinois history. The plan would increase fees by 57% for passengers, costing a commuter who passes through two tolls a day for 50 weeks $225 more in 2027.

Commercial vehicles would pay 30% more in toll fees, which could increase the price of consumer goods transported through Northern Illinois.

Starting in 2029, automatic inflation-linked increases would be imposed every two years without additional board votes.

Report continues here.

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Thanks to gerrymandering, over 90% of recently passed bills in Illinois were sponsored by one party


Posted in Commodius Maximus, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Elections, Illinois Policy Institute, Look For The Union Label, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Property Taxes, Springfield, Taxes, The Chicago Way, Unions on July 31, 2026| 1 Comment »

Partisan politics is a big player in the Illinois Capitol. The state needs real redistricting reform to increase competition, expand representation and strengthen accountability.

By Lilly Rossi | Illinois Policy Institute

Over 90% of the bills that passed both chambers in the second regular session of the 104th Illinois General Assembly were sponsored by Democrats, reflecting one-party dominance created by partisan gerrymandering.

In that second session, nearly 3,100 bills were filed. Almost 400 passed both chambers — with only 34 of those introduced by Republicans. That’s fewer than 10% of the bills sent to Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

Why does that matter? The Illinois Democratic supermajority is freezing out its Republican peers via partisan gerrymandering of legislative districts.

Many Republican bills die before even being heard.

All bills filed in the General Assembly go to the House Rules Committee or Senate Assignments Committee before being referred to an appropriate subject committee. In practice, the rules and assignment committees are often where bills go to die.

This is particularly true for bills introduced by Republican lawmakers. Nearly half of Republican-sponsored bills in the 2026 regular session were never referred to a subject committee, compared with 15% of Democrat-sponsored bills.

Illinois needs real redistricting.

In the 2024 presidential election, about 55% of the Illinois vote went to Democrat Kamala Harris, yet the party holds 66% of the total seats in the General Assembly.

Report continues here.

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Illinois sales taxes near top in U.S.

Posted in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Illinois Policy Institute, Immigration, Look For The Union Label, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Property Taxes, Springfield, Taxes, The Chicago Way, Unions on July 29, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Chicago will have one of the highest big-city rates in the country when the transit tax inches up Aug. 1.

By Adam Gorcyca | Illinois Policy Institute

Illinois’ high sales taxes are about to get higher in the Chicago area.

Across Illinois, the combined state and average local sales tax is 8.98%, according to the Tax Foundation. That’s eighth-highest in the U.S. and highest in the Midwest.

The state did end its 1% grocery tax Jan. 1, though more than half the local governments in Illinois have one.

For over a decade Illinois has been one of the nation’s least competitive states in terms of sales tax. The last time Illinois placed outside the top 10 highest sales tax rates was 2013.

Of the states bordering Illinois, Missouri has the highest combined average rate, but it’s still over a half a percentage point lower than Illinois’.

Wisconsin in particular stands out in comparison with Illinois, with a combined average rate of 5.72%, and Kentucky is not far behind, at 6%.

Article continues here.

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Drivers have less than 2 weeks to weigh in on endless toll hikes, years of congestion

Posted in BOHICA, Clown Car, Cost of Living, IDOT, Illinois Policy Institute, Illinois Tollway, Look For The Union Label, Overhead, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Springfield, Taxes, The Chicago Way, Traffic, Unions on July 23, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Illinois drivers have only a short window to comment on a $26.5 billion capital plan that includes the largest passenger tollway hike in state history.

By Shaw Carlson | Illinois Policy Institute

Drivers face up to 15 years of additional construction and congestion on Illinois toll roads under the system’s proposed capital plan.

They’ll also pay toll hikes continuing long after that.

The Driving Connections plan, announced in June, would spur projects on the Illinois Tollway system until 2042. The $26.5 billion plan would be funded with proposed toll hikes that Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed off on six months before the plan was released.

Former Tollway board member and state Sen. Bill Morris told the Daily Herald that “it appears they decided to raise tolls, and then they threw this together quickly for justification.”

The Tollway proposes raising tolls starting Jan. 1 by about 45 cents per toll for passenger drivers and 30% for commercial drivers. It would be the largest passenger toll hike in state history.

You can tell the Tollway Board to reject the tax hike here.

The board is hosting public meetings until July 24 and taking public comments online until noon Aug. 3. The next regular board meeting at which the hike could be approved is Aug. 19.

Lawmakers driven by road needs or union politics?

The proposed toll hike is tied to politics around last year’s mass-transit bailout. Lawmakers redirected about $1 billion a year from the Road Fund toward Chicago-area public transportation, a move opposed by construction unions objecting to losing that road money. The toll hike became the price for labor union support.

House Speaker Chris Welch said unions wanted something to point to that would “help keep working people working and keep roads getting repaired.”

Pritzker appoints the tollway board, and two of its members hold leadership positions in construction unions.

The Driving Connections plan would fund road-widening, reconstruction, bridge work and congestion relief across interstates 355, 88, 294, 80, 94, 90 and the Route 390/I-490 O’Hare-area projects.

Many of those toll roads have recently seen extended periods of construction.

I-294 remains tied up in Central Tri-State work, I-90 was modernized during the previous capital plan and Route 390/I-490 work has been going on for years.

Illinois spent $90,400 per lane-mile in 2023 on state-owned roads — about $16,700 more than the Reason Foundation’s model calculated it should have cost.

Article continues here.

Once again, you can tell the Tollway Board to reject the tax hike here.

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Illinois lawmaker salaries rise 34% faster than their constituents’ paychecks under Pritzker

Posted in Commodius Maximus, Ethics, Fools and their money, Illinois Policy Institute, Pension Funding, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Property Taxes, Snowflake Effect, Springfield, Taxes, Transparency on July 22, 2026| 1 Comment »

Gov. J.B. Pritzker and state lawmakers have increased lawmaker pay while approving budgets that raised taxes on Illinoisans.

By Shaw Carlson | Illinois Policy Institute

Lawmakers’ pay has grown much faster than the average Illinois salary during Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s time in office.

Since 2019, the base salary for members of the General Assembly has risen 44.9%, to $98,304 in 2026.

In the same period, the average Illinois salary rose 33.7%, to about $79,779.

That base salary for lawmakers is set to rise to six figures under the newly enacted fiscal 2027 budget and doesn’t include the additional compensation they get for leadership positions and per diems for items such as lodging.

Pritzker signed the record-high $55.9 billion budget that included more than $800 million in business tax increases and rise to lawmakers.

While lawmaker compensation climbs, voters’ priorities are tossed aside

Illinoisans have made clear what they want state leaders to address.

A recent poll found high taxes were the top concern among Illinois voters, with 52.8% choosing it as one of the biggest issues facing the state. The economy ranked second, with about 41% naming it a top one or two issue out of seven.

Report continues here.

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Falling birth rates could worsen Illinois’ declining public school enrollment


Posted in 220, 300, Cost of Living, Education, Illinois Policy Institute, Immigration, Property Taxes, School Districts, What the Ficke (Bradford)? on July 20, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Illinois public schools are teaching fewer students compared to a decade ago, yet taxpayers continue funding a system built for more students.

By Rich Witzel | Illinois Policy Institute

Falling birth rates suggest that Illinois’ declining public school enrollment will continue, a reality that should inform decisions of education policymakers.

The National Center for Education Statistics projected in early 2024 that Illinois public school enrollment would fall to 1.8 million students by 2030, but the number had already dropped to almost that low for the 2024-25 school year, according to state data.

The COVID-19 pandemic was a major factor in the decline in, but enrollment had already been falling for years. Year-over-year enrollment in Illinois increased only two times over the past 15 school years.

This is not just an Illinois problem. Nationally, public schools are serving 1.2 million fewer students in 2022-23 than before the pandemic, and enrollment is projected to fall by another 2.4 million students by 2031.

A shrinking student population

Falling birth rates factor in. Illinois recorded just under 125,000 births in 2023, a 31% decline from 2007 and one of the steepest drops in the country.

Birth data previews of future enrollment trends. Less births today mean fewer elementary and high school students in the years ahead. The drop in births is occurring among outmigration and families choosing other education options, further contributing to the state’s enrollment decline.

Report continues here.

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Toll and sales tax hikes: What Pritzker said vs. what Pritzker did

Posted in Clown Car, Deception, Elections, Fat Bastard, IDOT, Illinois Policy Institute, Illinois Tollway, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Taxes, The Chicago Way, Unions on July 17, 2026| Leave a Comment »

The governor said Illinoisans wouldn’t be interested in a toll increase to keep the Bears. Then he signaled support for what would be the largest passenger toll hike in state history.

By Rich Witzel | Illinois Policy Institute

Gov. J.B. Pritzker said in June that Indiana would have to raise tolls and sales taxes to get the Chicago Bears to move there.

Illinoisans wouldn’t want a deal like that, he said.

The irony: Pritzker had already signed legislation authorizing a Chicago-area sales tax increase for transit, and he later defended proposed toll increases that would include the largest passenger hike in state history.

Late last year the governor signed the Chicago-area mass transit bailout bill, which replaced the Regional Transportation Authority with the Northern Illinois Transit Authority and created new funding for CTA, Metra and Pace.

Part of that funding comes from a 0.25 percentage-point increase in the existing RTA sales tax.

The tax is in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will counties. The RTA approved the increase last month, so as of Aug. 1 the higher, Pritzker-approved rates will be:

  • 1.25% on general merchandise in Cook County.
  • 1.50% on qualifying food, drugs and medical appliances in Cook County.
  • 1.0% sales tax on general merchandise and qualifying food, drugs and medical appliances in DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will.

Report continues here.

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Illinois’ first-in-U.S. crypto transaction tax applies even to losing trades

Posted in BOHICA, Economy, Elections, Fat Bastard, Illinois Policy Institute, Look For The Union Label, Overhead, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Taxes, The Chicago Way, The New Normal? on July 16, 2026| 1 Comment »

The tax also risks being challenged in court.

By Adam Gorcyca | Illinois Policy Institute

Illinois’ new tax on digital asset transactions risks hurting trading volume and market liquidity, making the state unfriendly for the industry and prompting legal battles.

The fiscal 2027 state budget, which Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed in June, puts a 0.2% tax on the value of transactions in assets such as NFTs, bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, starting Jan. 1. Such transactions include exchanges, transfers or custodial services.

It’s the first such tax in the country. Affected businesses include crypto exchanges, trades, wallet and custody providers holding customer assets and firms transmitting digital assets between accounts. The law applies to any digital asset broker with a place of business in Illinois and to any brokers that gross $100,000 or more in annual digital asset receipts with Illinois residents.

Compliance will require brokers to collect and retain customers’ personal online transaction history, account information, mailing address, IP address and other data to indicate Illinois is the customer’s place of primary use.

Because the tax targets transactions rather than profits, brokers must collect it even when a trade loses money or when assets are transferred between accounts. For gains, the new tax will be an addition to Illinois’ current 4.95% individual income tax, which applies to capital gains.

Lawmakers expect the tax to generate $60 million a year.

Read more here.

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Illinois’ per-pupil spending 7th-highest in U.S., but outcomes shaky

Posted in 220, 300, Barrington Education Association, District 220 referendum, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Economy, Education, Illinois Federation of Teachers, Illinois Policy Institute, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Property Taxes, Real Estate, School Districts, Springfield, Topics Of Interest, Unions, What the Ficke (Bradford)? on July 14, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Spending was $25,000 per student in 2022-23, almost $5,000 above the national average.

By Jessica Rehberg | Illinois Policy Institute

Illinois spends more per public school student than nearly every other state.

During the 2022-23 school year, the state spent $25,000 per student, adjusted to 2024 dollars, according to a report from the National Center for Education Statistics. That’s almost $5,000 more than the U.S. average of $20,039 per student. The figure includes local and state money.

Illinois’ spending ranked seventh-highest in the nation and highest in the Midwest. Despite that, the state has struggled to show strong academic outcomes.

In the 2024-25 school year, only about half of Illinois public school students in grades 3 to 8 and in 11th grade met state reading proficiency standards. In math, just 39% were proficient.

The poor results were much more pronounced in some groups. Low-income students scored 16 to 19 percentage points below the statewide average in both reading and math.

Among Black students, 32% of those in grades 3 to 8 and 26% of 11th-graders were proficient in reading, while 14% to 15% met proficiency standards in math.

For Hispanic students, 39% to 41% were proficient in reading and 24% to 25% proficient in math across grades 3-8 and 11th grade.

These figures come after the Illinois State Board of Education lowered its proficiency benchmarks in 2025 and made student performance appear stronger on paper.

Report continues here.

Editorial note: States spending the same of more than Illinois are New York, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut and New Jersey.

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Pritzker doubled your gas tax and is sitting on the money

Posted in Aunt Blabby, BOHICA, Commodius Maximus, Deception, Fools and their money, IDOT, Illinois Policy Institute, Illinois Tollway, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Taxes, The Chicago Way on July 11, 2026| Leave a Comment »

The law promised major infrastructure improvements, but the state’s roads aren’t in any better shape than when it took effect seven years ago.

By Jess Plowman | Illinois Policy Institute

The state has collected billions of dollars in taxes for road improvements from the massive 2019 Rebuild Illinois law, but drivers aren’t seeing the benefits.

Illinois is taking in tax dollars faster than it’s spending them on improving infrastructure, and the roads are in no better shape than they were seven years ago, when the hallmark legislation of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s first term took effect.

Despite Road Fund revenue growing an average of 14% a year under the bill, fund expenditures grew by an average of just 5% yearly.

What’s more, most of that increased spending was front-loaded in the first two years of the program. Since 2022, Road Fund outlays have increased just 1.3% a year on average, not even the rate of inflation.

In other words, since passing Rebuild Illinois, the state is collecting more money for roads, but it isn’t spending more money on roads.

The Illinois Department of Transportation did not respond to the question of why spending on state roads and bridges appears to have leveled off.

Meanwhile, a “lockbox” provision in the Illinois Constitution prevents Road Fund money from being diverted to non-transportation spending (in theory). That, coupled with the imbalance between revenues and expenditures, has left the fund flush with cash. At the end of fiscal 2025 it held $3.7 billion.

Report continues along with video here.

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