Mayor Brandon Johnson’s proposed budget recommendations for 2026 include additional taxes on online sports wagering, and while final votes are not set, Chicago may become the first city in Illinois to have its own such tax. Chicago’s tax, which is one of 89 proposed revenue increases from Johnson’s Chicago Financial Future Task Force, balances the sports wagering tax to Chicago’s existing amusement tax; both will be taxed at 10.25 percent.
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.