Chicago and a few other cities have categorized streaming services as electronically delivered amusements subject to the amusement tax they levy on other forms of entertainment. Chicago pulled in $9.4 million from streaming services under its amusement tax in 2017, the first full year of implementation; By 2021, the revenue from the tax had more than tripled to $31.3 million.
A largely unasked question is becoming glaring: Is Illinois doing all it should to use artificial intelligence to make government cost less and work better? So far, the evidence says no.