-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
Meanwhile, lawmakers fret about affordable housing. Go figure.
Sanders ahead with Bloomberg in second, though the poll was taken before Bloomberg’s disastrous debate performance.
“There was a lot of weakness because Chicago was exposed to property tax changes coming to Cook County, and all the uncertainty that comes with it,” said Jim Costello, senior vice president at New York-based Real Capital Analytics.
“It’s a topic of conversation
As of Jan. 1, Illinois’ sales tax applies to any trade-in vehicle worth more than $10,000. That means trading in a $30,000 car for one worth $60,000 will cost the customer an extra $1,200 in additional sales taxes. It’s estimated to bring the state $60 million annually, affecting what state officials insisted was a small portion of Illinois residents.
Comment: For further background on this topic, see our recent article linked here. Bloomberg’s program to plant paid attorneys in AG offices has been criticized and reported in national media but ignored by the Illinois press, until this article. Salute to the author.
Public-sector employees could contribute more toward the costs of health insurance, Seals and others said. Local school boards could limit the overly generous compensation packages for superintendents that typically include annuities, car allowances and other perks funded by taxpayers. Wages and benefits for employees represented by labor unions are collectively bargained, and elected officials ought to fight harder for taxpayers, Seals said.
Instead, Springfield’s answer to financial crisis always seems to involve increasing revenues and never seems to look at cutting costs.
A second-term mayor of tiny North suburban Mettawa, Urlacher was indicted by a federal grand jury last week on allegations he took part in an illegal offshore sports gambling operation.
“Thanks Blago for making your first meal back a Trump foot-long.”
Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s City Council floor leader said Thursday he wants to raise or remove caps on gross income and personal net worth that have forced construction firms owned by women and people of color out of Chicago’s set-aside program.
“Remember that last year many Republicans supported the budget, especially after Pritzker agreed at the last minute to some business-friendly proposals pushed by the Republicans. GOP lawmakers have been out repeating the idea that bipartisan cooperation should happen again this year and how that will produce a better outcome for everyone.”
A federal judge has issued an injunction barring the city of Chicago from enforcing speech restrictions inside Millennium Park. Four student members of Wheaton College’s Chicago Evangelism Team sued the city on Sept. 28 after they were told to stop passing out religious literature and evangelizing in the park.
Roland Burris, the longtime Illinois politician who then-Gov. Blagojevich ultimately appointed to Barack Obama’s former Senate seat in 2008, says he supports President Trump’s decision to commute the ex-governor’s sentence.
One central Illinois lawmaker is looking to legally define what downstate is and to have the economic differences between the Chicago area and the rest of the state given consideration in crafting statewide legislation. Another measure asks the governor to include in reports to lawmakers the number of downstate members appointed to boards and commissions.
A Daily Herald investigation revealed 14 local park districts own housing that in most cases is leased to employees or the public, or offered as part of an employee’s compensation package.
In the Legislature itself, reports of wrongdoing have been hidden from the public. Julie Porter, the state’s former legislative inspector general, has said three investigations by her office – including one that found evidence of serious wrongdoing by a state lawmaker – were blocked from release by the Legislative Ethics Commission. The commission’s members themselves are state lawmakers.
“We are out in Nevada checking it out. The tsunami of taxes that [Illinois] is enacting on us and the proposed ones are forcing us to look around….
“Illinois is fiscally bankrupt and going morally bankrupt as well. I am not going to spend the last part of my life fighting to fix it. It is beyond repair and the only thing that might change the game is the current FBI investigation that continues to bore into the corrupt Democratic Machine which has existed for
“Media literacy is the literacy of the 21st century,” said a recent report by the nonprofit group Media Literacy Now. It found that 14 states require some sort of media literacy education in elementary and secondary schools, and called Illinois an “emerging leader.”
“Between the two, you’re talking about over $2 million of money that should normally be coming to the city of Springfield, the state would retain to help them balance their own budget,” said City of Springfield Budget Director Bill McCarty.
Chicago’s former police chief has been receiving a pension of more than $15,800 a month since the mayor fired him for allegedly lying about a night he was found asleep in his city-issued SUV, according to a newspaper report.
Presented without comment.
City officials say they see many of the same shops busted for selling loose cigarettes or unstamped packs of cigarettes. But with taxes on tobacco so high, many owners are willing to take the risk. The profit margins can be that good.
The dire description of the 1,324-bed, 385,000-square-foot facility is not the product of inefficient management, the report states, but rather the result of staffing levels that have dwindled for years, now leaving the jail about 50 officers short of the number it opened with in 2007 even though it houses more inmates today.
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“I was looking at a microcosm of the new Illinois economy, the commercial sector, at least. Gambling, pot, booze and a place to pawn your wife’s jewelry or your kid’s bike if you run out of cash for the aforementioned. All government-sanctioned and promoted as economic development.”
The OEIG report concluded that several state employees “improperly prevented competition” and “provided improper assistance” to help steer the contract to Williams.
The number of Illinois residents taking part in the federal nutrition program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) declined 26.4 percent from fiscal years 2015 to 2019
Analysis of the 2018 district-mandated standardized math and reading tests called the NWEA showed one in four Chicago Public School students took double the average amount of time on the test, and those students who took longer tended to do better. Some tests were paused up to 60 times.
“‘The tapes, they’re so powerful, and you have the track record of the U.S. attorney’s office rarely losing a case,’ said Patrick Collins, the former assistant U.S. attorney. ‘And the tapes are golden pieces of evidence. There is no better evidence than when the person himself is saying the words, as opposed to a flipper who’s got baggage.'”
At the Loop Alliance Foundation’s annual meeting Thursday morning, members heard about the new Elevate State plan from the urban landscape architecture firm hired to lead the project. Some key elements the plan will consider: how people get around on State Street, and what the infrastructure looks like. It’s a big plan. But then, so is this stretch of State Street.
A Daily Herald investigation revealed 14 park districts own housing that in most cases is leased to employees or the public or offered as part of a compensation package.
The size of a state’s rainy day fund affects the state’s credit worthiness. A better credit rating would result in taxpayers paying less when the state borrows funds.
The Court’s new order means that the government will be able to enforce the Trump Administration’s “public charge” rule in Illinois while its appeal is pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit – which is scheduled to hear oral argument in the case next week – and, if necessary, the Supreme Court. The “public charge” rule, which prohibits noncitizens from receiving a green card if the government believes that they are likely to rely on public assistance.
The so-called “push tax” approved last fall by Oak Lawn village trustees would charge gamblers every time they push a button to place a bet at one of the 200 slot machines in town. Last week, state Rep. Bob Rita filed a bill in Springfield that would give the state “exclusive” taxing power over video gaming.
As federal authorities uncover more and more corruption behind Illinois’ red-light camera programs, thousands of low-income Illinoisans have been forced to pay red-light camera fines to avoid having their license suspended.
The referendum is not on all Illinois County ballots. But, we did find it for Fayette and Jefferson Counties. A rally in Douglas County also appears as a Facebook event for Saturday: “Help draw the line! It’s time we hold those responsible for the destruction of our state accountable.”
Senate Bill 2946 would expand the Illinois Technology Development Fund to allow the treasurer’s office to invest in more than just technology equipment as it currently does. Senate Bill 3028 would allow the treasurer’s office to transfer up to five percent of its investment portfolio into an account devoted to spur economic growth in the state via infrastructure investments.
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