The passage of a state constitutional amendment that would allow a graduated income tax is Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s number one priority.

Pritzker says allowing the state to tax richer people at a higher rate is the only way to return financial stability to Illinois. And on Wednesday, Senate Democrats in Springfield approved a constitutional amendment that would allow Pritzker’s proposed new tax system to take effect – subject to voter approval in 2020.

The smart money says that if Illinois lawmakers are going to legalize sports betting this spring, it’s going to be part of a larger gambling expansion deal that also includes new casino licenses and expanded betting options at horse tracks.

Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker did not want to squander the opportunity to bring in new state revenue through legalized sports betting, made possible by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year, by tying the issue to the parochial gambling debates that have failed to produce an agreement for the better part of a decade. The governor is counting on more than $200 million in sports betting revenue in his spending plan for the budget year that begins July 1.

When the final whistle blows this weekend for workers on the third shift at the Belvidere Assembly Plant near Rockford, the nearly 1,400 members of “C Crew” will punch out for the last time, downsized out of a job because of slowing demand for the plant’s only product — the Jeep Cherokee.

It is a straightforward business decision for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, which is scaling back to a traditional two-shift schedule at the plant amid softening sales and a glut of competitors.

Maybe he’s just being polite, not wanting to discourage a potentially huge investment in his state. But at least initially, Gov. J.B. Pritzker is expressing interest in developer Bob Dunn’s proposal for a megadevelopment on air rights west of Soldier Field even though the project eventually would require hundreds of millions of dollars of state subsidies.

In a statement, Pritzker spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh confirmed what Dunn told Crain’s editorial board yesterday—that he has begun shopping his plan to key state political players—and then went further.

Watchdog should stay, call ‘balls and strikes’ despite our friendship: Lightfoot

Mayor-elect Lori Lightfoot said Thursday she wants and expects Inspector General Joe Ferguson to “call balls and strikes” during her administration and sees no reason their friendship would conflict with his role as a city watchdog.

Chicago’s Ethics Board has fined embattled Ald. Edward Burke $2,000 stemming from his participation in a 2018 Finance Committee debate over a tax subsidy for one of his law firm’s clients, Presence Health Care.

The board announced the fine this week, ruling that Burke violated city ethics rules by presiding as Finance Committee chairman over a 2018 hearing on a controversial proposal to give Presence Health Care a $5.6 million tax-increment financing subsidy for its downtown headquarters. Presence had been a client of Burke’s law firm, and he said ahead of time that he wouldn’t take part in the debate, but then did, according to the board ruling.

The clock is ticking for 45,000 Cook County property owners who owe $142 million in delinquent taxes. They have until 11:59 p.m. Thursday to pay up, and if they don’t, those unpaid bills may become opportunities for investors.

That’s because the Cook County Treasurer’s Office is about hold its annual tax sale as required under Illinois law. The sale begins at 8:30 a.m. Friday and continues through Wednesday, with a reoffer on Friday, May 10.

After spending his first term working to right the city’s financial ship, Naperville Mayor Steve Chirico says his goal for the next four years is to invest in infrastructure.

The city’s fiscal and economic accomplishments under his leadership speak for themselves, Chirico said during a recent interview with the Daily Herald, pointing to reduced debt, increased revenue streams, more sustainable cash reserves and several development projects in the pipeline.

While Palatine Township board members for the second time have approved the road district’s $1.78 million budget, Supervisor Sharon Langlotz-Johnson still is questioning the document’s accuracy.

Despite her concerns about the spending, Langlotz-Johnson said she doesn’t envision an initiative to seek voter approval to dissolve the road district, similar to what’s been done in other townships. In November, voters in Buffalo Grove-based Vernon Township abolished the road district to save a projected $109,000 annually.