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Recent efforts to raise the state’s estate tax limits have failed, with some lawmakers citing the state’s ongoing budgetary shortfalls as the main concern. The Illinois Farm Bureau estimates the previously introduced Family Farm Preservation Act would cost the state about $20 million annually.
Roughly two-thirds of Chicagoans surveyed don’t know that the city now elects school board members, according to a new poll commissioned by the parent advocacy group Kids First Chicago and conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago. Of 1,361 Chicago adults surveyed, just 10 percent could name their school board representative, the poll results showed.
“The feds seem to have caught onto the financial mess the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) has created for itself and are demanding the union’s audit records going back to 2019, if they even exist, that is.”
When first introduced, SB 2111 provided that a person operating a bicycle on Illinois roadways “shall not be prohibited from side-by-side riding, riding contraflow on one-way streets, and rolling through stop signs at clear intersections.” The language was removed during fall veto session and replaced with the transit package text that passed Oct. 31.
The president signed an executive order Thursday to provide a central source of approval for AI projects instead of sending them to individual states. “When they need approvals of things they have to come to one source. They can’t go to California, New York and various other places like Illinois with Pritzker, who’s a totally unreasonable person,” Trump said.
This marks the second straight year that a majority of Chicago aldermen have pushed back on Johnson’s budget proposal after breaking his campaign promise and proposing a $300 million property tax increase last year.
The Chicago Business Barometer gave Chicago a score of 36.3 in November 2025. A score below 50 indicates business activity is declining, and a score above 50 points indicates expansion. Chicago’s score has been below 50 for 24 consecutive months.
“Gov. JB Pritzker had vowed that if Indiana passed a redistricting bill, Illinois would follow suit and redraw its own maps to give the Democrats at least one more seat. It was unclear whether he could gather the votes for such a ploy, but it was pretty good political rhetoric. And, who knows, it might’ve worked. But the point is now moot.”
This analysis suggests who would potentially be affected by Mayor Brandon Johnson’s proposal: less than 1 percent of all licensed businesses in Chicago; roughly 20 percent of jobs at companies across the city; and companies where an average salary is estimated to be roughly $111,000.
Mayor Brandon Johnson did not directly answer a question Wednesday about whether he would support legalizing video gambling machines as proposed under the alternative budget proposal. “My team is going to scour through and look at some of the projections that some members of the City Council have put forward,” he said.
That is more than triple the $82.5 million set aside in the city’s 2025 budget to cover the cost of resolving police misconduct lawsuits. Mayor Brandon Johnson’s proposed 2026 budget does not propose to increase that amount but would borrow $283.3 million to cover the soaring cost of lawsuits alleging Chicago police officers committed a wide range of misconduct. It will likely cost Chicago taxpayers approximately $52 million in interest.
The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments last week about the 2022 agreement governing how U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement can arrest immigrants besides those being specifically targeted in an operation. In the 2-1 opinion, the appeals court said U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Cummings overstepped his authority on the blanket release of the detainees without assessing each case individually.
A new statewide fee on paint products adds a small charge to each container sold as part of a program lawmakers say will fund paint recycling.But Brian Costin, deputy state director at Americans for Prosperity Illinois, argues the new PaintCare fee, 45 cents to $1.95 per container, is simply another tax in a state residents already view as overburdened.
“The last two big energy packages we had before this big energy package, FEJA and CEJA, we were told were going to reduce energy costs, and they’ve done anything but that,” state Rep. Dan Ugaste said.
The Cook County States Attorney did ask for detention after Lawrence Reed’s August arrest for attacking a social worker. But they didn’t know about the March sexual assault of a 23-year-old woman who was riding the Blue Line, just like Bethany McGee. Neither did the judge who then released Reed on electronic monitoring.
By actuary Mary Pat Campbell.
Jesse Jackson Jr.—convicted, unpardoned, and unrepentant—is running for Congress again.
“It’s well past time that the people of Chicago actually know and see who these individuals are. They do not mean us well,” the mayor said. Earlier in the week, he called out asset management executive and Democratic Party donor Michael Sacks for funding ads opposing his budget. Last month, Black Voters Matter Fund announced a seven-figure ad investment to support Johnson’s spending plan.
“Our neighbors in Indiana have stood up to Trump’s threats and political pressure, instead choosing to do what’s right for their constituents and our democracy,” Gov. JB Pritzker said in a statement on X. “Illinois will remain vigilant against his map rigging — our efforts to respond and stop his campaign are being heard.”
In 2022 alone, more than 90 municipalities across the county granted the breaks to qualifying businesses, taking $7.58 billion of those properties’ fair market value off the tax rolls. That pushed $343 million onto property tax bills for other homeowners and businesses that year. But local officials generally consider incentives to be worth it to drum up jobs, broaden the county’s tax base and prevent industrial businesses from decamping to lower-tax competitors in Will County or Indiana.
“Though Johnson may look weak by compromising with the council majority on the head tax, it’s what the Chicago residents have told us they want: a local government that takes a commonsense approach to taxing and spending, and not one that gives employers or employees yet another reason to leave the city
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