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.
Chicago and Cook County: How to Nickel and Dime the Taxpayer – Cook County Beverage Tax (a new tax): .01 per oz. starting July 2017. Cook County Sales Tax was hiked effected January 1, 2016 .1025 (highest in the nation). Chicago Hotel Tax: 17.4%. Bullet Tax: .01 – .05 per bullet. Chicago Property Tax Hike 2016, 2017, 2018, & 2019: Police and Fire Pensions. Chicago Property Tax Hike: CPS school construction. And the list goes on: garbage fee hikes, water bill hikes, $5 hike to take Uber or Lyft to the airport, taxi hike, streaming / Netflix tax (part of… Read more »