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Jim Dey: "(State Sen. Robert) Martwick said he favors progressive rates because they would pave the way to property-tax cuts. Legislators have for years promised property-tax reductions in exchange for increases in the state’s flat rate. Illinois’ first flat income-tax rate in 1969 was 2.5 percent. It currently stands at 4.95 percent. Meanwhile, property taxes levied by local units of government have steadily increased and are among the highest in the nation."
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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.
Rob, tell me how much I’d have to pay more in income taxes to see a reduction in property taxes. Because if I have to spend $10,000 extra in income tax to see a property tax reduction of $5,000, no sale.
How can you tell that smarmy robert martwick is telling a lie? His lips are moving.
After figuring out that they can sock it to the rich through higher property taxes, the Dems have figured out they can apply the same principle to other assets. This tax conceptually is not different from a property tax– just a different type of asset. They tax the value of your real estate without you selling it for a profit, so now they will tax your other assets without you selling them for a profit. If the value of your house goes down, you don’t get a refund, you just pay a lower property tax next year. Same principle they… Read more »
In Michigan they dropped property taxes for an increase in the sales tax from 4% to 6%. For about 10 years they did actually pay lower property taxes.
However, fast forward 20 years. Property taxes paid are now higher than before AND they still have the 6% sales tax.
The problem is that governments spend too much — not that you don’t pay enough.
When your default mode is mismanaging taxpayer funds, there’s never enough revenue to be generated via increased and/or additional taxes and fees. Are there no ethical IL pols who can stand up and say it’s wrong for IL to be the worst or among the worst states in the country for so many tax and fee categories, and then strive to rein in the craziness?
It’s only a matter of time before they change the law to levy and collect real estate property taxes at the state level, and money will be collected, and redistributed ‘equity’ by the legislators in Springfield. Your Democrat overlords don’t need a progressive tax when they can jack up your property taxes instead. Rich people who own expensive real estate will pay more!
The best plan is to raise taxes on the poor honest hardworking people of Illinois. Also raise Pensions for all the government lackies who do not pay taxes on their pensions.
See how that story ends. Keep giving people reasons to leave and that is just what they will do.