-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
Cook County Circuit Court Judge Dan Duffy granted Chicago’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit objecting to Amusement Tax Ruling No. 5, a 2015 revenue program imposing a 9% tax on streaming entertainment services.
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Audio and summary Illinois bill would override local law to allow homeless living in all public parks – Wirepoints
April 14, 2026
24 Comments
If this bill passes, say goodbye to local control over all Illinois parks and expect to see open drug and alcohol use, needles, no sanitation and fire hazards, but no ordinary park users.
Mark Glennon on AM560’s Morning Answer: Chicago Fiscal Crisis Worse Than Pre-Bankruptcy Detroit, HIV Surge and Public Health Threat From Open Borders Goes Unreported
April 10, 2026
2 Comments
Summary and audio linked here.
Mark Glennon on AM560’s Morning Answer: Chicago pension buyout plan mostly shifts debt rather than eliminating it, property tax surge doubles inflation over three decades
April 3, 2026
9 Comments
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.
WBEZ and Chicago Sun-Times falsely blame Texas Gov. Abbott for 2020 to 2024 surge in Chicago Latino HIV, AIDS infections – Wirepoints Quickpoint
March 31, 2026
11 Comments
Expect no retraction or apology. This what they do.
Lori, YOU ARE A BUFFOON. End this nonsense now. The idea that those of us who make are CONTINUALLY subsidizing those who take is madness. At what point can we stop funding their existence through layers and layers of taxation?
When does personal agency take over? When do we allow people to own the decisions they make in life?
The amusement tax is allocated to public safety. With 4,000 shootings and over 800 deaths in Chicago the $22.5M in taxes do not seem to make the public safer. The commercials for governor candidates keep using the term “War Zone” so what is considered public safety?
https://mail.civicfed.org/civic-federation/blog/where-do-cook-county-sales-tax-amusement-tax-and-other-taxes-go
$137M is collected from cigarette taxes but many people still get lung cancer. So is the tax not going to lung cancer research. How much of all these taxes are going to administrative costs?
C’mon man, we all know where it’s going – Public “Servant” pensions!