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 --
Audio and summary 
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.
Too late Crains. You helped get us here. I hope your circulation drops so low you go out of business.
I dunno about that, Marko. I think Crain’s has really improved lately, IMO, aside from Greg Hinz. Their reporting on misguided energy policy and problems in Chicago real estate has been particularly candid and valuable.
Mark, what Crains is doing now is about as relevant to us as what Lori is doing now, it’s too late they blew their chance. It’s been like watching a slow motion train wreck for 20 years and Crains more than any other outlet should have been endorsing conservatives and pro-business politicians but they didn’t. Maybe you need to play nice because they still have some standing but they aren’t allowed in my office ever again.
Johnson only knows the world of non-profit. He hasn’t once had to manage to a bottom line hemmed in by real-world realities. His advisors are going to tell him to raise taxes because all they know is to jack up the price on something people are compelled to pay. They produce nothing but bureaucracy. These people aren’t laborers as much as people who tell you how to labor.
One can only wonder from reading the link to CTU/Brandon’s transition team bio (https://chicagoforthepeople.org/transition-leadership-team/)—are they all just like fake progressive Brandon? i.e. collecting checks or multiple checks from gov unions or state agencies as well as guaranteed pensions all on the taxpayers dime? This would make a dynamite WP research piece!!
but it looks like from the bio not one of them, along with CTU/Brandon, has balanced a spreadsheet a day in their lives
Run for your life, limb and wallet.
Brandon’s teams is a recipe for progressive urban utopia! Before long, Chicago will be sister city to Cape Town!
Crain’s… Is Hintz still there? If so, really can’t respect their take on pretty much anything…
Little bit late for the ‘hand wringing’ from Crain’s.
No doubt!
What a hoot! Crains writes at length regarding the fact that Johnson’s 5 most influential advisors are inexperienced and unknown, and his Transition Director is a SEIU officer.
Then goes on to hope that Johnson’s somehow going to listen to private-sector interests even though he’s excluded people with that experience entirely as advisors.
Registered Chicago voters are going to get exactly the governance that 15% of them voted for. Everyone else either isn’t surprised, or doesn’t care.
Someone get Nero on the phone… Maybe he can fiddle while this dump burns….