Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Pritzker’s Rules of Order’ Category

Sales tax hike to hit Cook, collar counties on Aug. 1

Posted in BOHICA, Commodius Maximus, Cost of Living, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Fat Bastard, Immigration, Look For The Union Label, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Taxes, The Center Square, Unions on July 25, 2026| Leave a Comment »

By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square

Consumers in six Illinois counties will be soon be paying higher sales taxes.

Transit funding legislation signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker last December provided for the 0.25% increase to take effect on Aug. 1 in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will counties.

The tax hike is projected to generate $478 million a year as part of the $1.5 billion in annual transit funding provided in Senate Bill 2111.

State Rep. Steven Reick, R-Woodstock, said suburban taxpayers are bailing out the Chicago Transit Authority.

“We’re giving them a lifeline of money that we’re not getting anything in return for,” Reick said.

The Center Square asked Reick if higher taxes might drive people out of the area.

“Here in McHenry County, we’re obviously on the border with Wisconsin. I think people are going to make economic choices to drive up to Walworth, in my case, to buy gas and things like that,” Reick said.

SB 2111 also gave the Illinois Tollway Board the power to raise tolls.

Before the bill passed, state Rep. Dan Ugaste, R-Geneva, said he appreciated the desire for a state-of-the-art mass transit system.

“I don’t know how, though, we justify spending more money than we need after $2 billion of tax increases in the last few years,” Ugaste said.

Report continues here.

Read Full Post »

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.

Read Full Post »

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.

Read Full Post »

‘Surreal’: Illinois’ only International Dark Sky Place attracts tourists worldwide

Posted in Capitol News Illinois, Commodius Maximus, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Springfield on July 21, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Not long after sunset, visitors will find thousands of stars popping out of the heavens in the Galaxy Loop of the Dark Forest Trail in the Middle Park Forest Preserve. | Medill Illinois News Bureau photo by Julia Levy

The legislature in recent years has taken steps to limit light pollution

By Julia Levy and Medill Illinois News Bureau | Capitol News Illinois

When the sun is out at Middle Fork River Forest Preserve in Champaign County, visitors will find themselves surrounded by 1,700 acres of scattered ponds for fishing, a labyrinth of trails for exploring and picnic tables among the groves.

But when dusk arrives and the moon rises, that’s when visitors are surrounded by stars, and it’s time to look up.

Middle Fork River Forest Preserve is Illinois’ first and only International Dark Sky Place. To achieve such a certification from DarkSky International, a site must have a visual-band zenith luminance of 21.2 magnitudes per square arcsecond. In simple terms, this means that the Milky Way must be visible almost every clear night.

A winding road at sunset into a field of tall grasses will soon be greeted with the light of thousands of stars. | Medill Illinois News Bureau photo by Julia Levy

Middle Fork River Forest Preserve outshines those requirements. Some of the deepest night sky objects can be seen on the preserve’s Dark Sky Trail, with a half-mile “Galaxy Loop” in the middle of an open field.

In recent years, the state has taken action aimed at addressing light pollution. Beginning in 2025, the state’s Responsible Outdoor Lighting Control Act began prohibiting outdoor lighting purchased with state funds from exceeding certain brightness thresholds. The General Assembly sent another bill to Gov. JB Pritzker this year on the subject as well.

“I took the dark skies for granted because I lived on a rural farm,” Matt Kuntz, lifelong Illinois resident and site superintendent of the preserve, said in an interview. “In 2018, I realized we needed to take up the effort to make this location (a dark sky park), and that’s when it all started.”

Site Superintendent Matt Kuntz partnered with experts and enthusiasts across Illinois to delegate the Middle Park Forest Preserve as an International Dark Sky Park. | Medill Illinois News Bureau photo by Julia Levy

Kuntz, alongside his staff and astronomers throughout the state, undertook the effort to receive such a designation and were successful that year.

It’s what came next that surprised Kuntz.

Article continues here.

Related: “‘I want people to care about the night’ (Our lessons learned follow),” “Chicago stargazers find more light pollution and wildfires are obscuring the skies: ‘It’s like going deaf if you like music’,” “Citizens for Conservation says, ‘Punch Your Lights Out!!!’,” “Vandalism to the home of former Lighting Ordinance opponent,” “The IAA battle: Why it was over before it began,” “Barrington Hills readies for final round of lighting debate,” “End of Barrington Hills light debate coming Monday?,” “No lighting decision in Barrington Hills this year,” “Big changes for Barrington Hills lighting law,” “Barrington Hills still debating limits on outdoor lighting,” “Resident files petition in protest of Dark Sky proposal,” “‘Dark Sky’ proposal sent to Village Board,” “Barrington Hills moves outdoor light law on, with provision,” “Barrington Hills stuck on lighting rules’ timing,” “Decision on Barrington Hills ‘Dark Sky’ ordinance deferred again,” “‘Dark sky’ proposal refined,” “Residents turned off by ‘dark sky’ proposal,” “Everything Is Deluminated – WSJ,” “Barrington Hills residents slam proposed lighting ordinance,” “Sizable crowd complains about proposed ordinance,” “Barrington Hills dark skies debate,” “‘Dark Skies’ via ordinance can be controversial,” “Law not necessary to keep sky dark – DH,” “Three Hundreds attend Dark Sky meeting in Barrington Hills,” and “Barrington Hills wants to turn out the lights and see the night sky”

Read Full Post »

𝐎𝐁𝐀𝐌𝐀 𝐉𝐔𝐃𝐆𝐄 𝐑𝐔𝐋𝐄𝐒 𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋𝐒 𝐇𝐀𝐕𝐄 𝐍𝐎 𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐅𝐄𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐄-𝐎𝐍𝐋𝐘 𝐒𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐎𝐋 𝐁𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐎𝐎𝐌𝐒

Posted in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Facebook, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Property Taxes, School Districts, WTF on July 20, 2026| 1 Comment »

Image courtesy M.A. Rothman

By M.A. Rothman via Facebook

A federal judge just told a teenage girl and her father that under Title IX, she has no right to a bathroom or locker room free of biological boys.

𝐔.𝐒. 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐭 𝐉𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐧 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧, nominated by President Obama in 2010 to the Northern District of Illinois, dismissed the lawsuit brought by a student identified only as F.F. and her father, James Ellard Fisher, against 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐭 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐭 𝟑𝟔𝟓𝐔 in suburban Chicago.*

The family argued the district violated Title IX and the Constitution’s equal protection clause by letting biological male students into girls-only bathrooms and locker rooms. Coleman disagreed, ruling that Illinois law lets schools allow transgender students to use the facilities of their choice, and that federal civil rights law only requires facilities be “𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦” across the sexes, not sex-separated.

Read Rothman’s full post here.

*Valley View Community Unit School District 365U (VVSD) is a large public school district in Will County, Illinois, serving most of Bolingbrook and Romeoville, plus portions of Plainfield, Lockport, and Downers Grove – Wikipedia.

Read Full Post »

Illinois may bring early warning of toll costs ahead of proposed rate hike

Posted in Fat Bastard, Illinois Tollway, Look For The Union Label, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Springfield, Taxes, The Center Square, The Chicago Way on July 19, 2026| Leave a Comment »

A roadside sign reads “Welcome to Illinois, The Land of Lincoln,” next to highway signs for Chicago and Indianapolis. | Photo: Sarah Roderick-Fitch / The Center Square

By Sean Reed | The Center Square

While Illinois contemplates raising prices on tollways across the state, one state lawmaker wants increased transparency for drivers.

State Rep. Martin McLaughlin, R-Barrington Hills, announced he plans to introduce the “Truth in Toll Transparency Act,” which he said will give drivers on Illinois tollways a more advanced warning of the cost to enter a toll.

He told The Center Square he wanted to bring the measure forward because drivers often aren’t made aware of the actual cost of a toll until it’s too late to turn around.

“You will see a sign that says ‘toll ahead’ or ‘paid toll,’ but it does not define what the cost of that toll is going to be on the majority of tollways,” McLaughlin said. “If you’re going to continue to charge us for the tolls, the least you should expect would be to get an exact exact dollar amount before you enter a toll point, and that’s not happening today.”

McLaughlin said the proposed law may come at a small cost to update and place new signage near tollways, but he said that cost would come alongside the tollway already needing to update signs if it approves a rate hike.

McLaughlin noted he doesn’t feel proposed toll increases, which are set to be voted on by Illinois Tollway officials in the coming months, are necessary right now. The increase would be 45 cents per toll for IPASS users and a 30% rate hike for commercial IPASS users.

“To me this is just another opportunity to demand transparency from those in Illinois that have a spending addiction, but have a transparency problem and if you’re going to hit up me and my neighbors for these numbers, let us know in advance before we enter into the toll,” McLaughlin said.

Report continues here.

Read Full Post »

Media Mistrust and Why Illinois and California are Failing

Posted in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), John Kass News, News Media, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Taxes on July 19, 2026| Leave a Comment »

By Drew Hayes | John Kass News

Editors Note: This commentary was written by my old boss at WLS AM radio Drew Hayes for his new website: onlaca.com  It is posted here with his permission. He understood the media was collapsing and with its collapse would come lost creditability that is needed by a civil society. JK

John Kass, the legendary Chicago columnist, has a website where he publishes commentary–that often, sadly–are on the sorry state of Illinois. Recently, guest columnist Paul Vallas–who was CEO of the Chicago Public Schools and ran for Mayor in 2023–wrote about Illinois’ horrendous financial problems and the virtue-signaling, DSA-mandated pursuit of ‘equity’.

Vallas brought the receipts, claiming that the Land of Lincoln is the least equitable state in the country. With their failed Governor, J.B. Pritzker, likely to face off with our failed Governor in the 2028 Democrat presidential race, the piece seems to merit a head-to-head comparison between the two states. For the sake of ‘equity,’ we asked ChatGPT to do a side-by-side comparison:

As you can see, both Pritzker and Newsom’s ‘progressive’ policies are deeply inequitable, crushing their states’ economies and making residents’ lives miserable. California, however, is in way worse shape on almost every count. Congratulations, Gavin: You have made California way more inequitable than Illinois. This is something you can actually hang your hat on in the socialist-dominated 2028 Democrat presidential primary.

You can read Paul Vallas’ analysis on the excellent website JohnKass.com here.

“Believe none of what you read or hear and only half of what you see” goes the old adage. The “read” part was added over time, with the evolution of the news media, to a quote from Edgar Allan Poe. Suffice it say, it is no surprise that people increasingly don’t trust the information they receive. And the media bears the blame.

As political discourse becomes ever more fractured and media choices become more diverse, the ability to uncover the truth becomes more challenging. JFK must have seen the explosion of media as an issue when he noted, “The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie, deliberate, contrived, and dishonest, but the myth, persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic.” Having access to news 24/7 from whatever perspective you choose has rendered the truth a fungible concept.

It is so easy to say the media lies, which it does. That it is hardly worth the debate. But the public—which is not required to do research or even to employ the lost art of critical thinking—judges the truth as they make their media choices.

Commentary continues here.

Read Full Post »

Socialists make their pitch | EDITORIAL CARTOON

Posted in 220, Agendas, Barrington Education Association, Board of Education, Chicago Tribune, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), His Master's Voice, Illinois Federation of Teachers, OP/Ed, Organizations, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, School Districts, Scott Stantis, What the Ficke (Bradford)? on July 18, 2026| Leave a Comment »

By Scott Stantis | The Baltimore Sun

Related: “Editorial: Graham Platner’s implosion should be a dire warning to Democrats. Is the party listening?”

Read Full Post »

Editorial: Our neighbors are rethinking income taxes. How about it, Illinois?

Posted in Barrington Education Association, Chicago Tribune, Commodius Maximus, Deception, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Ethics, Fat Bastard, Girlie man, IDOT, Illinois Federation of Teachers, Illinois Tollway, Immigration, Look For The Union Label, OP/Ed, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Property Taxes, School Districts, Springfield, Taxes, The Chicago Way, Transparency, Unions on July 17, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Lawmakers work in the Missouri House chamber on April 21, 2026, in Jefferson City, Missouri. Missouri is asking voters whether to gradually eliminate its income tax and shift more toward taxing consumption. (David A. Lieb/AP)

Missouri, Iowa, Indiana and Wisconsin all are thinking creatively about taxes

By The Editorial Board | Chicago Tribune

Illinoisans often assume high taxes are simply the unavoidable cost of living in the Land of Lincoln. But just across our borders, states are making some very different choices.

Missouri is asking voters whether to gradually eliminate its income tax and shift more toward taxing consumption. Indiana continues to emphasize fiscal restraint and has approved further tax reductions. Wisconsin used part of a multibillion-dollar surplus to enact income tax cuts and has continued debating additional relief. Iowa phased out its graduated individual income tax in favor of a flat rate of 3.8%.

Maybe you think Missouri is making a mistake or Iowa has gone too far. Maybe Wisconsin will reverse course. That’s not our point here. What stands out for us is that our Midwestern neighbors are at least practicing some creative taxation thinking.

Take what is going on in Missouri. On Aug. 4, voters get the chance to weigh in on whether Missouri should fundamentally rethink how it taxes its citizens; specifically whether the Show-Me State should gradually shift its tax burden away from income and toward consumption.

Ironically, Missouri currently has the very tax structure Illinois progressives have long sought: a graduated income tax. Even so, its top marginal income tax rate (4.7%) is lower than Illinois’ flat rate (4.95%).

Missouri’s average combined state and local sales tax rate also remains far below the rate in Illinois. Approval of the amendment could eventually narrow that gap, depending on how lawmakers implement the shift. Even then, Missouri would have a long way to go to match Chicago’s 10.25%.

Article continues here.

Related: “(Meanwhile) Income tax CUT on Missouri ballot; Illinois may see more outmigration”

Read Full Post »

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.

Read Full Post »

Older Posts »