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State lawmakers are nearing a key test on whether Illinois will follow the lead of California, New York and other states and enact legislation designed to let Illinois taxpayers avoid a new cap on deducting state and local taxes on their federal income tax return.
Awaiting a final vote in the House is a bill that would give taxpayers a credit against state income-tax liability for contributions to a new state-chartered charity that would be used to support public grade and high schools in the state.
Summary and audio linked here.
Chicago’s political leadership is floating a pension buyout program as evidence it is seriously addressing the city’s thirty-six-billion-dollar unfunded pension liability, but Mark Glennon, founder of the Illinois policy research organization Wirepoints, said that the proposal moves debt from one column to another rather than reducing it, and that the broader fiscal picture facing the city continues to deteriorate across every measurable dimension. Audio here.
Expect no retraction or apology. This what they do.
The state’s existing buyout program for its own pensions is the precedent for Chicago, which should be a warning: Look out for similar exaggerated claims and shoddy analysis.
Full interview and summary linked here.
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