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
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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.
The problem in Chicago, Cook County, and Illinois is that there is never a “point of no return,” because the pols believe the taxpayers always have enough funds available to generate more tax and fee revenue.
Anyone who remembers the School Finance Authority of 1980 or the original purpose of METRA/PACE knows that the only solution the State can offer is another middle-man committee or panel of experts funded by taxpayers. This group will be heavily weighted to favor the status quo and the only purpose will be to spread the continuing losses over to areas of the state where schools and transportation are used properly. The CPS schools will continue to fail and CTA will remain unsafe. Rinse and repeat in another 45 years. “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat… Read more »
Public unions have run IL and Chicago into the dirt, and the union mentality is ‘I got mine, suckers’
After fundamentally mismanaging Chicago since he got the keys, Mayor Cliff Notes finally realized that the cupboard is bare.
Illinois elects imbeciles.
Nearing the point of no return? Nearing a bankruptcy restructuring would be the alternative announcement…
He states city finances at “point of no return”? but zero layoffs to date? zero layoffs from all the ARPA-COVID hires (however many those are that press is to lazy to publish or intentionally hides?). and at CPS only a few lowly crossing guards and janitors layoffs
No really Brandon omg when did your light bulb go on, another individual out of his league.
DOA, busted, disgusted and has no future. Best thing for everyone to do is to abandon Schitt. Let PPF and the public “Servants” clean up the mess. Highest taxes in the country and they still need more. That says it all.
With Covid money drying up Johnson’s “Spend it and more will come” budget planning doesn’t appear to be very successful at the moment.
Golly, BJ, Maybe cut the hundreds of millions of $ spent on criminal illegal aliens? DOJ and Trump are cracking down on their criminal illegal voting and they will be excluded from the census count so….they will no longer be useful to the Democrats AKA Communists for much longer.
Hmmmm, my chumbolone crystal ball say reintroducing graduated income tax/millionaires tax once again while using DJT $40gs SALT cap as political cover, of course with no income caps just like last time, JB will announce any second. Maybe after he’s through with his little Texas hold-um charade. As well, of course, dedicate new graduated tax revenue to then go for broke and scrap TIER II for entire CRAZY 9,000 units of gov. If they go for graduated tax again, I’m not sure how that works with required constitutional amendment, special session, etc? Maybe early 2026? But you can bet your… Read more »
I’m 100% sure behind the scenes JB ,Brando, Stacy, Martwick, all the public sec unions, etc, etc are strategizing how to pull off a giant tax increase on comatose dopey taxpayer/homeowners with ZERO LAYOFFS!!! and end to TIER II!!! Don’t be fooled by the dog-&-pony show folks, they’re all the same blood sucking ghouls.
and you can bet reps will sheepishly get in line and go along.
Yep, and the next try to push through the graduated income tax will have even more misleading ads than last time.
On a related note, if it passes, many of us will find we’ve been promoted to the wealthy category.
They will definitely try it again. When that happens it will be setup to get approved. IMO, next time they will offer the voters a choice. A flat tax increase for all or a progressive income tax that only increases for the “rich”. It didn’t pass last time because many voters believed that eventually their own rate for their bracket would also increase. The campaign to defeat the amendment used this fear to vote against it. If they offered up a “guaranteed tax increase” now or a potential tax increase down the line, voters will choose the latter. Plenty more… Read more »
you forgot tax retirement ,SS & IRA’s savings…(just not public sec pensions)
I think that one would lighten Illinois’ population quite a bit. Even Iowa doesn’t tax retirement income now, and Michigan will be added to that group of states next year, so you won’t even have to relocate too far out of Illinois to escape the insanity.
Illinois would definitely lose some retirees but remember that people don’t choose states just on fiscal issues alone. What’s the point of moving out of state to save some tax dollars if you don’t see family and friends. For some it will cause them to move but for most, they will stay.
What IL will likely do is the old “frog in the boiling pot of water” trick. It’ll start out taxing only some forms of retirement income and/or taxing only above a certain income threshold. Then, not long after, it’ll turn up the burner on the stove by including more forms of retirement income as taxable and/or lowering the income threshold. In that scenario, there may not be a significant exodus right away. It would be spread out over time. You are correct in your many comments that IL has so very many ways to create or increase taxes and fees.… Read more »
You’re right. I did forget to put that one in there. After a progressive tax is passed they will be able to go after “rich” retirees. Taxing retirees would bring in another $2 billion a year. Raising the flat income tax from 4.95% to 5.95% would bring in another $5 billion. The state could easily bring in $2 billion from taxing services. Lots and lots of revenue that the state could bring in. So many choices so little time.
Even IL voters aren’t stupid enough to trust the legislature with a promise not to increase their taxes.
If the vote comes down to pass this progressive tax where 95% of the Illinois residents won’t see a tax increase or the flat tax rate will increase to 5.95%, it won’t matter whether they trust them or not. The decisions will be either a guaranteed increase in taxes or a chance they my bracket won’t go up and the “other guy” will pay. Voters will choose chance over a guaranteed increase.
Johnson should resign.
Resignation requires the self awareness that he is a useless moron. BJ has no such ability plus his puppet master Davis-gates wont allow BJ to ponder such thoughts even if he were capable of them.
Yes we are at a point of no return. But the solution is not to just throw more money at it. There will never be enough money for his progressive causes because the progressives will always find another thing they need money for.
Maybe he needs to cut unnecessary and progressive spending.
Mayor Pinhead, you are a moron. Correct the size and number of services offered to match the incoming taxation and let the chips fall where they may. It is just as simple as that.
Poor Brandon.” I can’t do this by myself!” I’ll tell what you did by yourself though- Spent billions on illegals nobody wanted to be burdened with- Spent 500K on a closed to the public reparations committee- Gave CTU everything they ever wanted- Have a + 100 person police bodyguard detail- Have nine (?) vice mayors making who knows what a year . No tears for Homie.
This total fiasco is equal to the captain of the Titanic saying,” Thanks for sailing with us
be sure to tell your friends and family how much fun you had.”