Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski said that multiple factors have contributed to Illinois population and job decline. “We will never have the most jobs as long as we have the highest property taxes in the country. We will never have more jobs as long as we have the second-highest gas taxes in the country. We will never have more jobs if we have the biggest pension debt in the country, and we will never have more jobs if our home values continue shrinking relative to the rest of the country.”

U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood said the Modernizing Manufacturing and Agricultural Bonds Act updates the federal rules for manufacturing and agricultural bonds. These bonds are exempt from federal tax and are tools used by state and local agencies to support small manufacturers and farmers and spur economic development.

State Rep. Charlie Meier said many expenses not fully covered in the budget would leave the state needing more funding. “We will see on a bill promoting the progressive income tax again in the future,” Meier said. “It will be because they have reasons – because they need the extra funds, whether that’s from the AFSCME contract or more money for the illegal immigrants’ Medicaid.”

The report shows that Illinois hotels generated nearly $622 million in tax revenue, the eighth highest amount in the country.

“Make no mistake, ALPRs are an important tool for law enforcement, especially when apprehending suspects in violent crimes or recovering stolen vehicles in car jackings,” Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias said. “We need to regulate these cameras so they are not being used for surveillance and tracking the data of innocent people.”

Attorney Thomas Maag filed the first challenge in state court shortly after it was enacted. That was transferred to federal court and consolidated with three other cases. “These people at the legislature have no idea what they’re writing about and there’s no objective way to determine what is banned,” Maag said. “If it’s unconstitutionally vague as alleged, the whole ban should fall.”

The First-in-the-Nation measure forbids that information from being used to track down someone seeking an abortion or to prosecute a person’s immigration status.

Progressives are on the march in Illinois, and they want to make sure their new policies can’t be overturned in state court. Solution: Pass a law that requires any constitutional challenge to a state law, rule or executive order to be filed in only two counties.

Under the proposed bill, Illinois employers with 15 or more employees are required to provide employees with information about their wages, benefits, and other compensation-related details in any specific job posting.

Jim Dey: “Illinois’ legislative salaries are the nation’s fourth highest, trailing only No. 1 California, No. 2 New York and No. 3 Pennsylvania. Legislators in those states earn annual base pay ranging from $95,432 to $119,702. Compared to neighboring states, Illinois legislators do even better…All told, it’s not Pritzkerian wealth, but it ain’t bad. It’s well above Illinois’ median household income of $72,205.”

“Gov. J.B. Pritzker and state lawmakers have recently been trumpeting the great financial shape of Illinois. Balderdash. And they know it. There will almost certainly be state tax increases by 2025…. The state legislature’s own budget forecasting agency predicted in March that by one reasonable scenario, the state’s operating funds in calendar 2025 will run at a deficit of more than $3 billion annually, with a whopping $18 billion in unpaid bills (from a total budget of around $100 billion). And this doesn’t include the political pressures to spend.”