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Archive for the ‘Fat Bastard’ Category

Pritzker’s affordable housing plan gets Senate hearing as municipalities remain opposed

Posted in Capitol News Illinois, Elections, Fat Bastard, Intergovernmental agreements (IGA), Land Use, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Property Taxes, School Districts, Springfield, Unions, Village Code, Zoning Board on April 25, 2026| Leave a Comment »


New homes are shown under construction in Wheeling, Illinois, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

By Aidan Klineman and Medill Illinois News Bureau

Article Summary

  • The Senate Executive Committee heard nearly three hours of testimony on Gov. JB Pritzker’s BUILD plan for more affordable housing in Illinois.
  • Proponents of BUILD argued that the primary driver of the current housing affordability crisis is a lack of supply caused by legislative hurdles and different municipal priorities.
  • Opponents argued that BUILD infringes on local authority and imposes a “one-size-fits-all” approach to residential zoning.

Read the full article here.

Related: “Village of Barrington President shares perspectives on Pritzker’s BUILD plans,” “(Ignoring public opinion) Pritzker says of BUILD Plan for homes would not cost taxpayers,” “Gov. JB Pritzker’s ambitious housing plan for Illinois: More four-flats, looser rules,” “Pritzker to propose statewide zoning laws to spur homebuilding, limit local control,” “McLaughlin’s press conference video recording regarding Pritzker’s proposed municipal zoning powers grab posted,” “‘It’s just a bad idea’: Suburban officials oppose Pritzker’s plan to reduce local control over residential It’s just zoning”

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IRS: Illinois lost $6 billion to outmigration in 2023

Posted in Commodius Maximus, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Fat Bastard, Illinois Policy Institute, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Property Taxes, Taxes on April 21, 2026| Leave a Comment »

A net of nearly 56,000 people and $6 billion in income left the state in 2023, according to IRS data.

By Bryce Hill | Illinois Policy Institute

Illinoisans who leave take a lot of money with them.

Federal tax returns show the state lost 55,609 people and $6 billion in adjusted gross income on net in 2023, the most recent IRS data available.

Most of those people were high-income. While people of all income levels left Illinois in 2023, the heaviest loss was among those making more than $100,000 a year. They made up 60% of the state’s net migration losses.

The economic impact of those departures is even greater: Filers making more than $100,000 took more than $5.5 billion with them — 90% of the state’s income loss.

Illinois lost residents to 38 states and the District of Columbia in 2023. By far the largest share of individuals and income was lost to Florida, which gained 10,583 residents and $2.4 billion in income from Illinois.

Texas was No. 2, adding 7,795 residents and $488 million in income from Illinois.

Article continues here.

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(Ignoring public opinion) Pritzker says of BUILD Plan for homes would not cost taxpayers

Posted in Clown Car, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Fat Bastard, FUBAR, Mad Cows, New Normal?, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Property Taxes, Real Estate, Springfield, Taxes, The Center Square, Topics Of Interest, Zoning Board on April 18, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Image courtesy PridesCrossing

By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square

Gov. J.B. Pritzker has ramped up his campaign for new housing in Illinois, and he expects taxpayers to pitch in.

After announcing the Building Up Illinois Developments Plan during his budget address in February, the governor urged support for it Friday at the City Club of Chicago.

Pritzker said the BUILD Plan is ambitious and comprehensive.

“It’s designed to eliminate unnecessary barriers and lower costs for housing construction and renovation, produce a wider range of family-friendly housing types and streamline permitting,” the governor said.

Pritzker said Illinois faces a gap of more than 142,000 housing units and needs to build about 225,000 units over the next five years.

The governor said most of the BUILD Plan would not cost taxpayers anything, but he said there would be an investment.

“The BUILD Plan also includes about $250 million to help spur development of housing and help people to afford housing,” Pritzker said.

Article continues here.

Related: “Gov. JB Pritzker’s ambitious housing plan for Illinois: More four-flats, looser rules,” “Pritzker to propose statewide zoning laws to spur homebuilding, limit local control,” “McLaughlin’s press conference video recording regarding Pritzker’s proposed municipal zoning powers grab posted,” “‘It’s just a bad idea’: Suburban officials oppose Pritzker’s plan to reduce local control over residential It’s just zoning”

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Happy April 15th: Illinois property taxes up 27% under Pritzker

Posted in Barrington Education Association, District 220 referendum, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Fat Bastard, Illinois Federation of Teachers, Illinois Policy Institute, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Property Taxes, School Districts, Unions, What the Ficke (Bradford)? on April 15, 2026| Leave a Comment »

The governor pins the issue on local governments, but state law and decisions contribute to the problem.

By LyLena Estabine | Illinois Policy Institute

Gov. J.B. Pritzker isn’t as innocent as he wants us to think when it comes to Illinois’ property tax woes.

“I want to remind you that property taxes are not determined by the state of Illinois, but rather by local governments…including school boards, park boards, library boards, municipalities, etc.,” he said last month.

He put special emphasis on school boards.

Pritzker is right that local taxing bodies set levies, but suggesting those decisions have nothing to do with him is naive at best and dishonest at worst. State mandates, pension obligations and funding choices he oversees play a significant role.

Under the governor, property taxes have risen nearly 27% — from $31.8 billion in 2018 just before he took office to $40.37 billion in 2024.

State decisions shape some of the largest pressures behind those tax bills.

Illinois public schools are primarily funded by property taxes. But school districts are forced to rely so heavily on those taxes in part because the state diverts a growing share of its education spending to pensions instead of classrooms.

Article continues here.

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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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New IRS Migration Numbers: Illinois Taxpayers Continue to Flee With Their Income

Posted in Blame Canada, Cost of Living, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Fat Bastard, Immigration, Politics, Property Taxes, Unions, Wirepoints on March 24, 2026| 1 Comment »

By Mark Glennon and John Klingner* | Wirepoints

The Internal Revenue Service on Friday released its annual numbers on taxpayer interstate migration, which are for changes from 2022 to 2023. In several ways, these numbers are more important than census numbers because they measure income taxpayers and are precise — the IRS knows and reports how many taxpayers changed their residence from one state to another.

Here are the key takeaways for Illinois:

  • For the year, Illinois lost 54,000 people (tax filers and their dependents), to net domestic out migration. That’s the 3rd most in the nation, behind only California and New York.
  • The annual incomes of people moving out of Illinois are far bigger than for those moving in — $104,000 vs. $79,000.
  • From 2000 through 2023, Illinois lost 780,000 net taxpayers (filers) to out-migration.
  • Adding in those taxpayers’ dependents, Illinois lost 1.6 million net residents to out-migration from 2000 through 2023.
  • Most importantly, since 2000, $94 billion of  Adjusted Gross Income left with departing taxpayers. That’s just for the first year after departure. Assuming they continued to work, the true aggregate total is far higher.

Details are in the charts shown.

On the surface, it may appear that Illinois’ rate of loss declined in that the number of taxpayer leaving with their income was less than recent years, as you can see in the charts. However, that reduction is likely attributable to the sharp decline in moves of any kind — to a record low. 2023 saw the fewest amount of moves nationwide since the U.S government began tracking the data in the 1940s. That reduction in moves resulted mostly from the sale sclerosis that set in as mortgage interest rates spiked from 2022 to 2023. That left many homeowners reluctant to sell because they did not want to give up the low-rate mortgages they obtained earlier.

Among other states, the biggest winners of taxpayers and income gained were Florida, Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and Arizona, in that order.

(Click on image to enlarge)

Article continues here.

*Mark Glennon is founder of Wirepoints and John Klingner was earlier its Research Director.

Editorial note: Those living in Illinois illegally, such as the 25-year-old Venezuelan migrant Jose Medina of the 6800 block of North Sheridan Road in the Rogers Park neighborhood who assassinated an 18-year-old Loyola University freshman recently, are likely not counted in the IRS figures.

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Pritzker doesn’t tell whole story on test scores

Posted in Barrington Education Association, Deception, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Education, Fat Bastard, Illinois Federation of Teachers, Illinois Policy Institute, Immigration, Politics, Property Taxes, Springfield, Taxes, Unions on March 19, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Counter to the governor’s claims, Illinois students’ scores on a national assessment have dropped despite more education spending.

By Hannah Schmid | Illinois Policy Institute

Gov. J.B. Pritzker recently touted Illinois eighth-graders’ reading and math scores as proof of increased public school funding’s effect on student success.

Here’s the reality: Illinois students’ scores have dropped despite that increased spending. And there’s more to the data than Pritzker let on about Illinois students outperforming those in other states.

If the governor wants to help students, he should join the majority of states that are opting into a federal program that provides donor money for students’ targeted needs.

Illinois student scores drop despite increased education spending

In his budget address last month, Pritzker said “historic investments” in public education have boosted student success. But Illinois student performance in both reading and math fell over the most recent 10 years of the National Assessment for Educational Progress.

Those declines weren’t just because of COVID-era shutdowns. Both eighth- and fourth-grade scores were dropping in both reading and math even before schools were closed.

During that same period from 2013 to 2024, the state’s spending on K-12 education rose by nearly $10 billion. That’s a 44% increase over a period when enrollment declined 10%.

Counter to Pritzker’s claims, the increased spending on Illinois schools has not improved student achievement.

Article continues here.

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JB Pritzker’s Political Brand Is at Stake—in a Race He’s Not Even Running In – Wall Street Journal

Posted in Clown Car, ComEd Four, Commodius Maximus, Cost of Living, Deception, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Elections, Fat Bastard, Illinois State Board of Elections, Immigration, Look For The Union Label, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Springfield, Taxes, Unions, Wall Street Journal on March 14, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Illinois’s governor has given at least $5 million to a group backing his lieutenant governor and upsetting the Congressional Black Caucus. | Eileen T. Meslar / Chicago Tribune/Zuma Press

By John McCormick | Wall Street Journal

CHICAGO—Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s deep financial involvement in his state’s U.S. Senate primary on Tuesday has angered potential allies for his possible 2028 presidential bid.

The billionaire is helping finance a multimillion-dollar barrage of ads to boost Juliana Stratton, his lieutenant governor, in a race that is also testing Pritzker’s political clout in a state where he has leveraged his wealth to dominate the Democratic Party.

The contest has turned sharply negative in its closing weeks, while revealing divisions within the party over how progressive the Democratic brand should be. It has also become a debate about the influence of outside money.

Pritzker’s involvement has especially angered the Congressional Black Caucus, an influential party group backing one of its own, Rep. Robin Kelly (D., Ill.). Both Stratton and Kelly are Black.

“His behavior in this race won’t soon be forgotten by any of us,” Rep. Yvette Clarke (D., N.Y.), the CBC’s leader, said in a statement also critical of the governor for trying to “tip the scales” in a primary.

Black voter support is critical in Democratic presidential primaries. Clarke declined an interview, while Pritzker recently told reporters he has a proven record of supporting nonwhite candidates.

“I would like a Black woman to represent us in the United States Senate. I just want the best person. She happens to be a Black woman,” he said. “I stand with communities of color across the state and with candidates who are running for public office.”

Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, taking a selfie, has stressed her progressive leanings. | Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP/Getty Images

Article continues here.

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Pritzker denies traveling on Epstein’s plane after Bill Clinton’s since-recanted testimony

Posted in Capitol News Illinois, Ethics, Fat Bastard, Politics on March 3, 2026| Leave a Comment »

By Ben Szalinski | Capitol News Illinois

Gov. JB Pritzker denied a since-recanted comment by former President Bill Clinton that Clinton thought the pair may have traveled together on a plane owned by convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

His denial was in response to a 90-second video clip of Clinton’s closed-door deposition before the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that began circulating online Monday night.

“No, I have never, had never met Jeffrey Epstein,” Pritzker said Tuesday. “I was never on Jeffrey Epstein’s plane. I was never on any plane with Jeffrey Epstein or with Ghislaine Maxwell. Never met her.”

Pritzker added he had never heard of Epstein until about 2019 when Epstein was indicted for child sex trafficking in the early 2000s.

Clinton’s testimony

In his deposition, the ex-president was asked to recall who he brought on more than two dozen flights he took on Epstein’s plane. He said it was often people who worked with him, for his foundation, including staffers and Secret Service agents, but also the governor of Illinois and his wife.

“On occasion, I had people who had volunteered to help us and wanted to see what we were doing,” Clinton said. “For example, I think it was on one of these trips — I think — that I had my first trip for a man who is now the governor of Illinois, JB Pritzker, and his wife. They gave me — they helped me get started.”

Article continues here.

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