The ban was a request of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association as part of a deal during budget negotiations last spring. State lawmakers capped a monthly sales tax deduction claimed by retailers at $1,000 to generate $101 million to fill a budget hole. In exchange, lawmakers passed the ban on swipe fees.
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.