Totaling the unsustainable tax increases and windfall revenue during Pritzker Administration – Wirepoints
May 26, 2026
23 Comments
With $162 billion more from taxpayers, couldn’t you deliver a few bond upgrades, too
-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
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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.
In a state that never has enough taxpayer money to spend irresponsibly, you can never build enough casinos.
It doesn’t matter that gambling is a regressive activity.
Maybe they don’t have hotels because they know their clientele isn’t going to stay overnight in Hammond or Gary. I imagine that same clientele would prefer to hightail it out of East Hazel Crest as soon as they’re done gambling.
Like Mexican restaurants and craft breweries, sooner or later the casino industry will hit its point of over saturation and only a few will survive. Good business, yes. By businesses given tax breaks at the public’s expense, no.
Despite the competition and declining casino tax revenues over the past decade, Illinois has no plans on scaling back gaming.
The state is expanding the use of video gaming and opening another casino at Hawthorne Race Course in suburban Cicero in hopes of pushing its $1.5 billion in casino tax revenue from last year even higher.
They are obviously doubling down on stupid here.