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Chicago has lost its mind – The Washington Post

Posted in Clown Car, Cook, Cost of Living, County, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Dumb and Dumber, Dumb Bunny, OP/Ed, Pension Funding, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Taxes, Uncategorized, Unions, Washington Post on December 15, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) at an October news conference. | Joshua Lott/The Washington Post

The city’s fiscal situation is dire, and Mayor Brandon Johnson is determined to make things worse.

Chicago has long-term structural problems with its finances, thanks in large part to wildly underfunded pensions. The country’s third-largest city has a history of using short-term gimmicks to paper over its problems, such as a notorious 2008 deal that sold off 75 years of future parking meter revenue for $1.15 billion, which was quickly spent. That deal is still hurting finances today, which should have taught local politicians that there is no substitute for serious fiscal reform. Alas, apparently not.

The city’s net operating budget increased almost 40 percent between 2019 and 2025, “subsidized in large part by temporary federal pandemic funding that kept the City financially afloat,” according to Grant McClintock of the Civic Federation. “The pandemic is over, but many of the programs and personnel positions established during that time remain, and without the benefit of the federal funding that previously supported them.”

Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) proposes to offset a $1.15 billion shortfall by taxing the businesses that anchor Chicago’s economy, borrowing and more gimmicks.

The mayor proposes to increase the tax on the lease of “personal property” like computers, vehicles and software from 11 percent to 14 percent, and to bring back the city’s “head tax,” which would result in large employers paying $33 per worker, per month.

By making it more expensive to do business or hire workers in the city, these measures threaten Chicago’s future economic growth and tax collections. These moves are especially reckless given that the Chicago Fed’s 12-month hiring outlook is the weakest it’s been since the pandemic. Gov. JB Pritzker (D) says the head tax would penalize employment.

Read more here.

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Blacker Friday: Illinois shoppers face sales tax hit

Posted in Cost of Living, Illinois Policy Institute, Preckwinkle's Rules of Order, Springfield, Taxes on November 28, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Holiday shoppers are eager to spend this year. Illinois is overly eager to tax them.

By Jerry Barmore | Illinois Policy Institute

The 2025 holiday shopping season is expected to be strong, with 186.9 million people – 3 million more than last year’s record – planning to make purchases from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday.

While this is great news for retailers and a good sign for the economy, Illinois shoppers will see their bills padded by the nation’s seventh-highest combined state and local sales tax averaging 8.92%. Some local governments hike the sales tax well above that rate.

Chicago shoppers see a 10.25% sales tax bumping up the checkout totals on all their purchases. Chicago’s sales tax is the second highest of any major city in the nation, but it will go even higher in the New Year: 10.5%, becoming  the No. 1 sales tax in the nation as part of a transit bailout.

Illinois’ tax policies aren’t much better. They’re a drag on the state’s economy, as is shown by the state’s worsening tax competitiveness rating compared with other states. Illinois recently dropped six spots in the national rankings, losing out to 37 other states and putting in the worst performance of any state in the Midwest.

This kind of trajectory only discourages business formation and prompts families and businesses that are already here to consider leaving the state, maybe for shopping or maybe for good. Polls show voters are fed up and see high taxes as the top issue facing Illinois.

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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Illinois lawmakers again push disguised ‘retirement tax’

Posted in Commodius Maximus, Cost of Living, Deception, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Illinois Policy Institute, Immigration, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Property Taxes, Springfield, Taxes, Unions on November 25, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Illinois voters soundly rejected a progressive state income tax because it was a path to tax retirees. That isn’t stopping state lawmakers from trying again.

By Ravi Mishra | Illinois Policy Institute

Lawmakers introduced a new bill to end Illinois’ long-standing flat income tax and replace it with a progressive structure – a move that could impose taxes on retirees and others.

The move comes as Illinois tax revenues have reached record highs. Illinoisans face some of the nation’s biggest tax burdens.

This isn’t even the legislature’s first progressive tax attempt this year. And for a second time, former Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn is pushing the idea.

Voters statewide rejected a progressive tax because it hands state lawmakers power to set tax rates at whatever they want on whomever they want, including on retirees who are not taxed by the state on their retirement income. Calls for taxing “millionaires” are deceptive bids to go after the income brackets of family farms and small businesses – not penthouse residents.

Plus, after state lawmakers have the power to tax one income group, nothing stops them from adding another, and another, and another. Dividing and conquering avoids the political backlash of raising everyone’s flat tax.

Record revenues driven by tax hikes, not growth

Illinois has collected $54 billion in 2025, marking an 35% increase since 2020. The surge didn’t come from economic growth, but rather from at least 50 tax hikes imposed during Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration.

Despite record revenues, Illinois has had among the slowest economic growth in the nation. Since Pritzker’s first term, the state has ranked 45th nationally in economic growth and dead last in the Midwest. High taxes have been a primary driver of stagnation, through discouragement of investment, loss of population and lack of entrepreneurship.

Despite this, lawmakers keep looking towards progressive tax schemes to give themselves more to spend.

Read on here.

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Many Chicago suburbs not meeting state’s affordable housing requirements, report finds

Posted in BACOG, Chicago Sun*Times, Cost of Living, Politics, Real Estate, Springfield, Taxes on November 24, 2025| 1 Comment »

The Illinois General Assembly passed the Affordable Housing Planning and Appeal Act in 2003 to help create more affordable housing in the state.

By Lizzie Kane | Chicago Sun*Times Contributor

Suburban communities in Illinois are failing to meet the requirements set out for them in a 22-year-old law aimed at increasing the state’s affordable housing supply.

The Illinois General Assembly passed the Affordable Housing Planning and Appeal Act in 2003 to “address the shortage of affordable, accessible, safe, and sanitary housing,” the law says. It requires eligible municipalities to submit reports to the state every five years, detailing their plans to build more affordable housing units.

A new report found only around a quarter of submissions were compliant, according to Impact for Equity, a nonprofit focused on legal and policy issues in Illinois. All but one of the 44 jurisdictions that need to submit plans are in the Chicago area.

Article excerpt: “A 2021 amendment clarified that home rule municipalities — communities of over 25,000 residents with greater authority over their own governance from the General Assembly and the governor — are required to submit plans under the law. Many communities had previously argued that they didn’t have to comply with the law due to the home rule, the report said.

The communities that didn’t submit plans this year include: Barrington Hills*, Campton Hills, Elmhurst, Inverness, Lake Forest, Oak Brook, Prairie Grove, South Barrington*, Geneva, Hawthorn Woods, Lily Lake, River Forest and Third Lake. The majority of these communities also didn’t submit plans in the last cycle, which was 2020.

The jurisdictions whose plans were noncompliant include: Deerfield, Deer Park*, Frankfort, Glencoe, Glenview, Homer Glen, Lake Bluff, Lakewood, Lincolnshire, Lincolnwood, Long Grove, North Barrington, Spring Grove, Timberlane, Tower Lakes*, Wayne, Western Springs, Wilmette and Winnetka.”

Read the full article here.

*Two-thirds of BACOG community members didn’t submit plans or their plans were noncompliant. Barrington and Lake Barrington do not appear on the list.

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ICC slashes Nicor, Ameren proposed gas rate hikes by over 40%

Posted in Capitol News Illinois, Cost of Living, Springfield on November 20, 2025| 3 Comments »

By Maggie Dougherty | Capitol News Illinois

The Illinois Commerce Commission Wednesday sharply cut rate increases proposed by Nicor Gas and Ameren Illinois, slowing the speed of rising energy bills for customers in much of the state. 

Instead of approving the full $314 million requested by Nicor and $129 million requested by Ameren, the ICC cut 47% and 43% from the requests, respectively. 

As a result, the ICC approved a rate increase of $168 million for Nicor and $73 million for Ameren Illinois. 

In a news release after the ruling in Chicago, ICC Chairman Doug Scott said the decision was made after careful review to approve only “necessary and justified” projects while striking “excess” spending. 

“The ICC’s responsibility is to balance the interests of Illinois’ utilities and their customers,” Scott said in the release. “We recognize that any decision impacting Illinoisians’ bills is not a small one.” 

Read more here.

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Illinois firefighter pensions torch local finances

Posted in BCFPD, Cook, Cost of Living, County, Illinois Policy Institute, Jewel-Osco, Kane, Lake, McHenry, Overhead, Property Taxes, Taxes, Unions on November 19, 2025| Leave a Comment »

In Lake County and across Illinois, fire pensions are driving up property taxes and leaving fewer resources for safety.

By LyLena Estabine | Illinois Policy Institute

Chicago fire pensions may be close to insolvency, but the city is not alone: firefighter pensions are consuming most of the resources needed to keep communities safe.

Statewide, the most recent data shows municipal fire department increased property taxes by $371.6 million between 1996 and 2023, adjusted for inflation. While the total tripled, pensions have gone from taking less than half of the property taxes to taking nearly three-fourths: $311.6 million more in 2023 than in 1996.

Actual fire protection operated on $60 million more than in 1996.

Firefighters receive generous pensions, and rightly so given the dangerous nature of their work. However, when those benefits become overpromised – as they have become in Illinois – they undermine retirement security and reduce the amount of money available for service. Police and fire pensions outside of Chicago reported combined liabilities of $493.1 billion in 2024, with only 49 cents on hand for each dollar owed.

The low funding ratio isn’t because property taxes aren’t going towards pensions. In most counties more property tax revenue is going towards pensions than in the past. In 1996, 48% of these revenues went toward pensions compared to 73% in 2023. A similar pattern can be seen in counties across the state.

That doesn’t mean every town is cutting back on fire services, but it does mean an increasing share of local tax dollars is being consumed by pension costs rather than the services residents rely on.

At 1.83% of their home’s value each year, Illinoisans pay the highest average effective property tax rate in the nation. But in some communities, it’s worse than that figure would indicate.

Read more here.

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Op-Ed: Main Street businesses, customers would bear brunt of a tax on services

Posted in Cost of Living, Deception, Economy, OP/Ed, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Property Taxes, Taxes, Topics Of Interest, Unions on October 24, 2025| Leave a Comment »

A filing case filled with labeled folders, including bank account and automobile records, sits beside tax documents and forms on a desk. | Photo: Sarah Pflug / Burst

By Noah Finley | National Federation of Independent Business

Even as lawmakers reconvene in Springfield for the fall veto session, special interest groups continue to press for higher taxes on everyday services – such as haircuts, tax filings, and vehicle repairs – to fund their pet programs.

Last week, a memo circulating around the capitol included a potential $2.7 billion statewide service tax, euphemistically dubbed as “Sales Tax Modernization.”

This proposed tax on services would disproportionately hit Main Street businesses and their customers.

It would apply to everyday services that working families and seniors depend upon, such as home repairs, haircuts, pet care, accounting, tax services, landscaping, and vehicle repairs.

These services are normally provided by local small businesses – plumbers, landscapers, beauticians, accountants, electricians, lawyers, mechanics and many, many others.

These small businesses have been fighting to contain costs and limit price increases for their customers even as inflation has wrecked the buying power of everyday Americans.

It hasn’t been easy. Most small businesses have already had to raise prices to cover their costs and keep their doors open. Many have seen their customer base dwindle as fewer working Americans and seniors can afford the goods and services offered by Main Street businesses.

Too many consumers have been priced out of the market after years of rising costs. They are having to choose between home repairs, car repairs, or other basic services and putting healthy, wholesome food on their kitchen tables or keeping their thermostat at a comfortable temperature.

Putting a new tax on services will exacerbate this challenge for seniors and working families. As everyday Illinoisans are forced to cut back on spending and delay projects and services, Main Street businesses will bear the brunt of these reduced expenditures.

In addition to a decreasing customer base, small businesses will also have to absorb higher costs themselves. They will have to administer and collect the new service tax, which will impose new paperwork and administration costs on their businesses. They will also pay higher costs for the services that their business requires to operate – legal services, facility and equipment maintenance services, accounting and tax services, etc.

Small businesses lack the capacity to absorb more cost increases, so these costs will also have to be passed along to already stretched customers, further exacerbating affordability issues for price conscious consumers.

Legislators on both sides of the aisle in Springfield have voiced discomfort with this direct tax on working Illinoisians. Even as special interest groups continue to press for a service tax, many legislators understand how detrimental it would be to Main Street businesses and their customers. The ongoing affordability crisis makes it critical that the Illinois General Assembly shuts down these lingering rumors and talk of a service tax.

The last thing Illinois needs is a new tax on everyday services. Let’s let small businesses continue to do what they do best – serve their customers!

Noah Finley is the Illinois State Director off the National Federation of Independent Business

Posted to The Center Square

Related: “Illinois lawmakers push new $2.7B sales tax on haircuts, Netflix, Uber and other services,” “5 things Illinois taxpayers are lucky state lawmakers failed to pass”

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DoorDash, Uber, Ticketmaster and toll road hikes: $1.5 billion in potential taxes explained

Posted in Cost of Living, Economy, Entertainment, Illinois Policy Institute, METRA, Taxes, Unions on October 16, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Prices for DoorDash, Uber, Ticketmaster and Illinois tolls might go up now to cover $1.5 billion for Illinois transit agencies. A real estate transfer tax for homes in the Chicago suburbs is also on the table.

By Ravi Mishra | Illinois Policy Institute

New tax and fee hike proposals on DoorDash, Uber, Ticketmaster and toll roads could hit Illinoisans to cover shortfalls in the Regional Transit Authority budget. The RTA, which oversees the Chicago Transit Authority, Metra and Pace, faces a looming budget crisis as federal pandemic funds run dry.

Revenue options include:

  • A $1 delivery charge for delivery orders over $100, excluding pharmaceuticals and groceries to fund public transit. Revenue estimate: $102 million
  • A 25-cent increase in CTA fares. Revenue estimate: $76 million to $78 million if 2025 CTA fare trends hold steady.
  • A 10% tax on all rideshare trips in the RTA region (Cook and collar counties) to fund public transit. Revenue estimate: $132 million to $291 million
  • A ticket price surcharge of $5-10 would be added to tickets at venues that contain more than 10,000 people. Revenue estimate: $150 million to $250 million
  • A 25% surcharge on tolls, charged once per day, which would increase the average cost of tolls by $0.60 to fund public transit. Revenue estimate: $438.5 million
  • A $1 surcharge on all tolls. Revenue estimate: $1 billion
  • A fee of $0.03 per kw/h tax on electric vehicle charging at public chargers to fund public transit. Revenue estimate: $3.2 million to $14.2 million with increased adoption of electric vehicles
  • An extension of the Chicago Real Estate Transfer Tax to the collar counties, which taxes $1.50 for every $500 during the transfer of a property to fund public transit. Collar County dollars would be used for Metra and Pace transit needs, not for the CTA. Revenue estimate: $82 million
  • A one-time transfer of funds from the Illinois Road Fund to fund public transit.

The Regional Transit Authority has already seen dramatic growth in its budget even as ridership remains well below pre-pandemic levels. Spending was boosted by billions in emergency COVID funds, but with that money gone, the system is facing a $230 million fiscal gap next year.

Read more here.

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