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Residents have been paying 37.7 percent in taxes on their monthly wireless bill. This includes 24.9 percent in state and local taxes, fees, and surcharges as well as the 12.8 percent in federal taxes for the Universal Service Fund. For a family of four sharing a $100 plan, that adds close to $38 each month. Illinois families pay $456 a year in cell taxes while the U.S. average is $320.
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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
29 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.
And like all taxes they also get passed on to the consumer of goods in the form of higher prices. Many of the taxes that businesses must pay get passed on to the consumer of goods and services.
This mismanaged state has the highest or among the highest taxes and fees in the country in a number of categories. As PPF said many times, there are many ways to generate more revenue via tax and fee increases.
IL residents are the proverbial frogs in the pot of boiling water. Unduly high cell phone taxes and fees aren’t by themselves going to bankrupt anyone, but when you combine them with all the other unduly high taxes and fees in this state, residents finally realize the water temperature in the pot is dangerous to their health.
Butterworth adroitly avoids this and the never ending gas tax increases, etc. while taking a victory lap over eliminating the grocery tax ( that very few states had in the first place ) and flat out lying about his balanced budget.
What tax in Illinois isn’t the highest in the nation. Democrat/Socialist control of Illinois
Retirement income taxes.
Personal property taxes.
Beer and spirit excisel taxes are middle of the pack.
Of course the inappropriately named fair tax which Pritzker failed to pass twice would have opened the gate to eventually tax retirement income too.
What won’t they tax . Of course with their part time jobs paying 100k a year, they can afford it