Paying In America Is Annoying, And About To Get Worse (In Illinois) – Forbes*

“Note the comments from Don Apgar, Director of Merchant Payments at Javelin Strategy and Research, who points out that since processors who service merchants in Illinois will need to modify their platforms in response to the legislation, they will likely raise prices to merchants. … In fact he says that some processors may choose to not make the investment and simply terminate Illinois merchants!”

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May Flash Index fell slightly – University of Illinois

“The U.S. and Illinois economies remain in what most observers believe is the long-desired soft landing characterized by slower growth and moderating inflation while avoiding a recession,” said Fred Giertz, Professor Emeritus, Institute of Government and Public Affairs, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

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Chicago Business Media Endorse Quantum Efforts, Push For Tech Leadership – Quantum Insider

“The editorial also emphasizes the economic benefits of this quantum push. High-paying jobs for researchers and semi-skilled labor are anticipated, offering a substantial economic boost. Crain’s highlights the potential for the South Works site to rejuvenate a long-dormant area of the city, injecting much-needed economic vitality. They are pushing for city government intervention.”

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McCombie, Halpin on Illinois budget, taxes – WHBF (Rock Island)

“Our state is very diverse, and whether it’s the Quad Cities or central Illinois or southern Illinois or Chicago we have very different needs,” House Minority Leader Tony McCombie said. “Although this budget has some good things in it, it does leave things out, and it certainly does have tax increases that I believe will hurt a lot of our border communities, and that includes the Quad Cities.”

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Pritzker urges Dems to win this fall, hurls insults at Trump – WisPolitics

240608Pritzker“(Gov. JB) Pritzker said Dems’ mindset has to be like game day when the Packers and Bears play. While people can spend the offseason debating coaches, quarterbacks, kickers, draft picks and play calls, when we get on the field, the goal is winning and ‘losing is not an option.’ One party activist called out, ‘for us,’ drawing a laugh from the crowd mindful of the Packers’ 10-game winning streak vs. the Bears.”

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Chicago Named Among The ‘Worst Run’ Cities In The U.S. – WGCI (Chicago)

Here’s what Engineer Your Finances (who sourced their list from Wallet Hub) had to say about one of the worst run cities in the entire country: “A trend on this list is cities with budgets that City Hall mismanages, but none are as bad as Chicago. Incredibly generous pension benefits consume over 20 percent of the city’s budget, all while it faces a rising crime rate and a strained educational system. Over the next few years, it’s expected that Chicago will keep falling down this list as new businesses refuse to move to the city and the high taxes drive

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‘This will not be 1968.’ Chicago police prepare for DNC as whole world watches once again. – Chicago Tribune/MSN

“The political stakes are high … That’s particularly true for Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who was pivotal in bringing the convention to Chicago and will use the event to elevate his national profile as a key Biden surrogate and potential future White House contender, as well as Mayor Brandon Johnson, who has perhaps a greater affinity with those planning to protest than with the police under his command who are charged with keeping order.”

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Wind farms, key to clean-energy efforts, threaten birds and bats – Chicago Tribune*

Illinois is the fifth-largest state for wind energy, and produces about 7 percent of the United States’ wind energy, according to the American Clean Power Association. “More than half of the (bat) species in the U.S. are either declining or at some risk of decline,” said Winifred Frick, chief scientist at Bat Conservation International. “Wind energy is the leading cause of mortality for our long-distance migratory species. And that mortality rate is worryingly high.”

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Commentary: Illinois Shows Americans How Bad Taxes Can Get – Daily Caller

“As poorly as government leaders have treated taxpayers, they have gone on to impose more hits with other local taxes to the point that Illinoisans now shoulder the nation’s highest state and local tax burden, taking 16.5 percent of the median income, or $12,479 a year. Pre-Pritzker that household was paying less than 15 percent, or $8,330. That is $4,149 more during the Pritzker era.”

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Why state froze rate for towns’ share of income taxes – Daily Herald*

Only a few suburbs saw their share of income taxes shrink last year despite a rate increase from the Local Government Distributive Fund; no town was harder hit than Aurora, which lost $446,911 in 2023, records show. The recently approved state budget called for the LGDF rate to remain stagnant next fiscal year, which starts July 1.

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