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Archive for the ‘The Center Square’ Category

State vs. local property tax debate rages in Illinois

Posted in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Fat Bastard, Look For The Union Label, Perjury, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Property Taxes, School Districts, Taxes, The Center Square, Unions on April 1, 2026| 1 Comment »

By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square

Gov. J.B. Pritzker says property taxes are a local issue, but a county treasurer’s report says hefty tax increases are allowed by state law.

The governor was asked about property tax relief at an event in Chicago on Monday.

“Well, I want to remind you that property taxes are not determined by the state of Illinois, but rather by local governments, indeed, local units of government, including school boards, park boards, library boards, municipalities, etc,” Pritzker said.

The governor then pointed to the minority party in Illinois.

“So I think people sometimes get confused. I know the Republican Party in Illinois is quite confused and thinks that this is a state issue when it is actually a local issue,” Pritzker said.

Americans for Prosperity Illinois Deputy State Director Brian Costin said the governor’s statement is false.

“It is absolutely a state issue. If Gov. Pritzker doesn’t understand that, he doesn’t understand what the state constitution is about and that local governments are created by the state government,” Costin told The Center Square.

A report by Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas said loopholes in state law allowed local officials to raise taxes at twice the rate of inflation and also higher than wage growth from 1994 to 2025.

Article continues here.

Related: “Editorial: Maria Pappas’ property tax numbers don’t lie. Governance in Illinois has been a stark failure for 30 years,” “Cook County property taxes doubled the rate of inflation in past 30 years, Treasurer Maria Pappas study finds”

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Some blame taxes as Illinois grows on paper but loses residents

Posted in Cost of Living, Deception, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Fat Bastard, Look For The Union Label, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Springfield, Taxes, The Center Square, The Chicago Way, Unions on March 31, 2026| Leave a Comment »

By Sean Reed | The Center Square

Illinois’ population has continued to narrowly grow this year, despite a significant number of cities in the state losing residents to other states.

Some say the trend of increasing tax rates is to blame.

The majority of metropolitan areas in the state have lost residents again in 2025, with Census Bureau data estimates showing only two major areas with any real domestic growth, Rockford and the Illinois portion of the St. Louis metro.

Bryce Hill, director of fiscal and economic analysis for the Illinois Policy Institute, said taxes are driving Illinoisans beyond state boundaries.

“Illinois already imposes one of the highest tax burdens in the country, with the nation’s highest property taxes, among the highest sales taxes, and a 32% income tax increase in 2017,” Hill said. “If state leaders are serious about reversing domestic outmigration, they must focus on tax relief and reducing regulatory barriers to make Illinois more competitive and affordable.”

Rockford is the only main metro in the state that saw true population growth, according to the data. The gain came from all areas, domestic and international migration, and a natural population increase.

The Chicago metro, including surrounding counties, saw a domestic migration loss of almost 34,000, with the area only growing by 4,200 people when accounting for international migration.

Darren Bailey, the Republican nominee for Illinois Governor, also pointed to state taxes as a big reason people are leaving Illinois.

“It’s pretty simple. It’s affordability. People can’t afford to live here. I mean that is the number one far and away issue. I have been in Chicago for the last two weeks,” Bailey said. “Property taxes are too high – especially for our friends here in Chicago, they have escalated in the last three years much faster than ours have in the rest of the state.”

Article continues here.

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Illinois school cell phone ban progresses as many districts already enforce policies

Posted in 220, 300, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, School Districts, Springfield, The Center Square on March 26, 2026| 1 Comment »

 

A person writes mathematical equations on a whiteboard in a classroom or research setting. Photo: ThisIsEngineering / Pexels.

By Sean Reed | The Center Square

A bill banning students from using cell phones during the school day was unanimously recommended to be adopted by an Illinois House committee Wednesday. The bill, which was introduced in the state Senate during the last legislative session, has bipartisan support and has been a focus of Gov. J.B. Pritzker in recent months.

Senate Bill 2427 and its associated amendments were heard by the House Education Policy Committee early Wednesday.

The bill, which was also passed unanimously by the Senate last April, would require school boards across the state implement a policy prohibiting the use of cell phones and other personal communication devices from the beginning to the end of each school day, with some exceptions.

Rep. Laura Faver Dias, D-Grayslake, questioned Lindsey Volz, a legislative advisor with the Governor’s Office, on how the bill would address students’ access to phones in the event of an emergency at school.

“Schools are able to allow exceptions if they choose to in the case of an emergency, and it’s up to the school districts on how the phone is stored as well. So, it might be as simple as reaching into their backpack or going to their locker,” Vols said.

How to securely store devices is left to the discretion of school boards, with public input on the new policies being required, according to the bill’s text.

Article continues here.

Editorial note: CUSD 220 refers to cell phones as a “non-academic device” for the benefit of readers wishing to view policies.

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Illinois lawmakers weigh options to change rising property tax

Posted in Barrington Education Association, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Illinois Federation of Teachers, Look For The Union Label, Politics, Property Taxes, Springfield, Taxes, The Center Square, Unions on March 9, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Photo: Emilee Calametti / The Center Square

By Glenn Minnis | The Center Square contributor

Republican state Rep. Joe Sosnowski has filed legislation he hopes will make life easier on Illinois residents now facing some of the highest property taxes in the country.

With the issue of affordability being a critical one across much of the nation, Sosnowski recently filed House Bill 4626, which seeks to cap rising property taxes by basing costs on the equalized assessed value of a home in the year that it was bought.

Final assessment costs would then not increase for as long as the person owns their home, with the goal being to make housing more attractive and affordable for first-time buyers, working families and fixed income seniors.

“We’re not growing, and one of the biggest problems is we have the highest property tax rate and the highest overall combined tax rate of any of the 50 states,” Sosnowski told The Center Square. “This legislation would be an immediate help to homeowners. It allows people to have an investment that grows, similar to retirement accounts and things that just because they grow in value doesn’t mean you pay more taxes year to year.”

With Illinois also being home to the most local taxing bodies, House Bill 3723 would also cap annual property tax increases at 1% for seniors and House Bill 3724 would cap all such increases for homeowners at 3%.

Article continues here.

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Illinois TOPS NATION for public sector union political spending

Posted in 220, 300, Barrington Area Library, Barrington Education Association, Board of Education, BOHICA, Cook, County, Deception, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Elections, Fools and their money, Illinois Federation of Teachers, League of Women Voters, Look For The Union Label, Overhead, Pension Funding, Politics, Preckwinkle's Rules of Order, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Property Taxes, Road construction, School Districts, Springfield, Taxes, The Center Square, What the Ficke (Bradford)? on December 17, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Scott Stantis / For the Chicago Tribune

By Glenn Minnis | The Center Square contributor

Commonwealth Foundation Labor and Policy Senior Director David Osborne says Chicago’s growing reputation as the place where public sector unions flex plenty of political muscle is more than well deserved.

Osborne points to a new Commonwealth Foundation report highlighting how public sector unions across Illinois spent nearly $30 million on state races over the 2023-24 election cycle, or far more than what union officials in any other state dedicated to such causes.

At $5.5 million, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson tops the State Government Union Pac Money List of those most benefiting from government employment unions support. In addition to Johnson, at least six other state lawmakers land on the list’s Top 20, lead by House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, at No. 2 and Illinois Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, at No. 4.

“In the state of Illinois, political spending is bigger than in any other state,” Osborne told The Center Square. “Unions seem very focused on who gets elected to be the mayor of Chicago and governor of the state. What you’ve got really is a downward spiral in Illinois where the kinds of unions that have gotten so powerful have really done it at the expense of taxpayers and then they’re pouring more money into getting the right kind of people elected for them.”

With researchers adding that almost 96% of all donations for Illinois-level candidates went to Democrats, Osborne said it’s past time someone address the imbalance.

“Public sector unions, they’re not often talked about as the cause of problems,” he said. “We often look to high taxes, bigger government, economic policies, but really what’s driving states and cities to enact policies that are harmful to individuals, that raise taxes, that grow the size of government beyond its purpose are public sector unions.

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Illinois rejects federal ‘no tax on tips’ rule, keeps state tax on tipped income

Posted in Entertainment, Fat Bastard, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Springfield, The Center Square on November 30, 2025| 2 Comments »

By Catrina Barker | The Center Square contributor

Illinois is not adopting the new federal “no tax on tips” provision, meaning tipped workers in the state will still owe Illinois income tax on tips, even when those tips are exempt at the federal level.

Manish Bhatt, senior policy analyst with the Tax Foundation, said Illinois’ tax structure makes it possible for the state to decline the new tip exemption.

“Only those states that begin state-level income tax calculations using the federal definition of taxable income have it automatically incorporated into the tax code,” Bhatt explained. “I don’t believe Illinois does that. So I think the states are certainly able to not incorporate that individual sort of exemption on tips and overtime wages.”

Even for states that do automatically conform to federal tax changes, Bhatt said it may be wiser to “decouple” from the federal rule.

“It’s much more sound tax policy to not create carve-outs for certain taxpayers at the expense of others,” he said. “More general reform certainly needs to happen to bring the tax burden down for everybody.”

Bhatt said taxpayers who are seeing and hearing about the no tax on tips at the federal level might not think about having to actually add those back into their state return.

“It’s not that those individuals are trying to avoid taxation. They just don’t know to add that back into their state income tax,” Bhatt told The Center Square.

Bhatt warned that confusion could lead to filing mistakes or the need for paid tax preparation services.

Read more here.

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Illinois business group warns of ‘backbreaking’ progressive income tax

Posted in Cost of Living, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Fat Bastard, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Springfield, Taxes, The Center Square, Unions on November 26, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker speaks at an Advocate Health Care event at District 21 Health Center in Illinois. | Photo: BlueRoomStream / Screenshot

By Greg Bishop | The Center Square

Manufacturers say legislators at the Illinois State Capitol have done enough damage and a progressive tax would be too much.

Last week, former Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn proposed a 3% surcharge on incomes over $1 million. The effort comes after voters in 2020 disapproved of changing the state’s flat tax to a tax with higher rates for higher earners. All the talk comes as Chicago’s mayor calls for “progressive revenue” from Springfield.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker said state lawmakers are already talking.

“I believe that we need to have a system that is more progressive and less regressive than the one that we have now,” Pritzker said. “I think it is something that is being talked about by members of the General Assembly.”

Pritzker was asked about whether voters are ready for another push.

“I do think a graduated system is better than a flat tax system, and so if there’s a possibility for us to have a system like that, it’s better than the one we have,” Pritzker said.

On Tuesday, Technology and Manufacturing Association Executive Vice President Dennis LaComb said even the talk about such policies will turn prospective businesses away from Illinois.

“The rhetoric to revive a progressive tax is not only reckless but dangerous—prospective businesses will hear that and avoid Illinois, struggling working families will no longer be able to afford to live here and move elsewhere, and manufacturers and businesses looking to expand in this state will have to account for added taxes,” LaComb said in a statement.

Read more here.

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WATCH: Ex-Illinois governor pushes for ‘millionaire’s surcharge’ amendment

Posted in Look For The Union Label, Politics, Springfield, Taxes, The Center Square, The Chicago Way, Unions on November 20, 2025| Leave a Comment »

The push continues to have voters answer whether there should be a 3% surcharge on Illinois millionaires. | BlueRoomStream, Greg Bishop / The Center Square

By Greg Bishop | The Center Square

The push continues to have voters if Illinois should be a 3% surcharge on millionaires.

Former Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn this week relaunched his effort to bring about the ballot referendum after the nonbinding question was approved in 2024. He stopped at the state capitol in Springfield on Wednesday.

“We need a millionaire amendment for property tax relief for families and businesses all across Illinois,” Quinn told reporters.

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Don Tracy said such a tax will push higher earners out of the state.

“They can’t, you know, can’t control spending,” Tracy told The Center Square. “So they have to ever increase taxes. And then they always want to tax the rich. But where has that ever worked?”

Quinn is pushing for the binding measure to be approved by legislators by May 3 in order to be placed on the November ballot.

The amendment, if approved, would allow the state to levy a 3% surcharge on millionaires for a property tax relief fund.

Read more here.

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Group seeks probe into Illinois law requiring grades 3-12 mental health screenings

Posted in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Illinois Federation of Teachers, Look For The Union Label, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Property Taxes, School Districts, Taxes, The Center Square, Unions, What the Ficke (Bradford)? on November 6, 2025| Leave a Comment »

By Tate Miller | The Center Square

A law firm is urging a federal investigation into a new Illinois law, arguing that the act that requires mental health screenings for all school children grades 3-12 violates the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment, because it only includes communication with families about the screening and the option to opt-out instead of “affirmative parent consent.”

Policy director at American Principles Project Paul Dupont told The Center Square that Illinois’ law is “just the latest example of the continued erosion of parental rights in America’s public schools.”

“A healthy society would recognize that parents are the primary educators and caregivers for their children, and that schools merely play a supportive role,” Dupont said.

“But in recent years, government institutions have increasingly encroached on family matters, often on the unfounded assumption that parents might even be a danger to their own children,” Dupont said.

“That is the reason why so many school districts today have policies prohibiting parents from being informed if their child adopts a transgender identity,” Dupont said. “And it is also likely why Illinois has now instituted this policy of mental health screenings for students without affirmative parental consent.”

“These practices are fundamentally anti-family, and parents should oppose them,” Dupont said.

Senior Director of Communications at Defending Education Erika Sanzi emphasized to The Center Square that “requiring unlicensed people to screen asymptomatic children every year is wildly irresponsible government overreach.”

“This whole trend of schools tinkering in the minds of other people’s children needs to stop – it isn’t helping anyone and there is substantial evidence to suggest it’s actually causing harm,” Sanzi said.

Read more here.

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Ex-speaker Madigan to begin 7.5-year prison sentence Monday

Posted in Crime, Politics, Taxes, The Center Square, Unions on October 11, 2025| 1 Comment »

Photo credit: Nam Y. Huh

By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square

One day before the Illinois General Assembly’s fall veto session is scheduled to begin, one of the most powerful lawmakers in state history is headed to prison.

Michael J. Madigan, D-Chicago, served in the Illinois House from 1971 to 2021 and was speaker for all but two years between 1983 and 2021. He chaired the Democratic Party of Illinois for 23 years and led Chicago’s 13th Ward Democratic Organization.

A federal judge sentenced Madigan to 7.5 years in prison and ordered him to pay a fine of $2.5 million earlier this year, after a jury convicted the former speaker on 10 counts of bribery, conspiracy, wire fraud and use of a facility to promote unlawful activity.

Judge John Robert Blakey presided over the trial of Madigan and codefendant Michael McClain. Blakey also sentenced Madigan and ordered the former speaker to report to prison at 2 p.m. Monday, Oct. 13.

Brian Gaines, Honorable W. Russell Arrington professor in State Politics at the University of Illinois, said he did not think Madigan would end up behind bars.

“I always thought he was a master of control and someone who had figured out just how to tiptoe along the lines of legality but stay on the right side,” Gaines told The Center Square.

More here.

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